Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/moneyinbroilerss01boye 



MONEY 



IN 

BROILERS AND SQUABS, 

TOGETHER WITH 

SPECIAL CHAPTERS ON TURKEY AND GUINEA 

BROILERS AND GREEN DUCKLINGS 

AND GEESE FOR MARKET. 



THE EXPERIENCES OF PRACTICAL MEN. 



BY MICHAEL K. BOYER. 



Copyrighted, 1904, by the Author. 



Price 50 Cents. 



PUBLISHED BY 



MICHAEL K. BOYER, HAMMONTON, N. J. 
19 04. 



LIBRARY of OONSKESS 
fwu Coyies deceived 

FEB -2 1905 

•iotwngni tniry 
ec. 3, /</£>¥ 

CLASS >? AXC. Noi ■ 

GOPY B. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



An introduction is hardly needed for this work. The subject 
matter is of such a nature that its worth is readily understood. 
The writer aims to place in a concise manner such information as 
will be of value to both the novice and the veteran in the production 
of choice, young, tender carcasses for market, and in order to more 
completely handle the subject, embraces broilers, squab-pigeons, 
green ducklings and geese, and turkey and Guinea broilers. 

That.rnuch good will come from this effort, is the earnest hope 
of 

THE AUTHOR. 

Hammonton, N. J., October ist, 1904. 




MICHAEL K. BOYER. 
Plate No. 1. 



CONTENTS. 



Pag". 
CHAPTER I.— A Small Beginning and How the Broiler Industry Grew 
with the Advance made in Improved Machinery, Improved 
Ideas, and Improved Facilities Generally. Pointers Showing 

why so Many Failures in Pioneer Days 5-10 

CHAPTER II.— A Miscellaneous Batch of Pointers Invaluable to Broiler 

Raisers 11-17 

CHAPTER III.— What are the Drawbacks? (18-19). Profitable Way to Con- 
duct the Business (19-21). Growing Small Broilers (21-22).... -3-22 

CHAPTER IV.— Artificial Methods and Hints that will 'Prove Valuable in 

Running any Incubator or Brooder 23-32 

CHAPTER V.— Artificial Methods as Given by some of America's Greatest 
Experts— M. Sumner Perkins (33-36); Poultry Keeper (36-37; 
39-41); R. W. Davison, (37-39); Mrs. Harry E. Hoak (41-42); 
Wallace's Farmer (42-43) ; Maine Experiment Station (43-45) 33-43 

CHAPTER VI.— Pointers in Feeding, Value of Feed Stuffs, together with 
Numerous Bills of Fare— W. R. Curtiss & Co. (46); J. H. 
Seely (46) ; F. Bause (47) ; J. E. Stevenson (47) ; W. H. Child 
(47); W. H. Jones (47); G. G. Harley (47); Henry Nicolal (47); 
Purdue Station (48) ; Ohio Poultry Journal (48) ; W. C. King 
(48); Geo. Hall (48); Dr. G. M. Twitchell (48); F. Y. Hopping 
(48); M. Sumner Perkins (49); R. W. Davison (50); A. G. 
Duston (50-52); Farm-Poultry (52-54); G. W. Pressey (54-55); 
T. Farrer Rackham (55-56) 46-56 

CHAPTER VII.— Drooping Wings in Chicks (57-59). Roofing the Brooder 
Houses (59-62). Bowel Troubles in Young Chicks (62-63). 
Dressing for Market (63-67). Raising Stock Birds (67-69).... 57-69 

CHAPTER VIII.— The Squab Industry as Gleaned from a Visit to William 

E. Rice, of Bridgeton, N. J v 70-77 

CHAPTER IX. — Pointers on Duck Culture and Experiences by the Most 
Extensive Duck Raisers in this Country (78-96). Duck 
Farms of Geo. Pollard (96-98); James Rankin (99-102); 
Weber Bros. (102-106) 78-106 

CHAPTER X.— Turkey and Guinea Broilers for Market (107-108). Valu- 
able Pointers on the Care and Marketing of Turkeys (108- 
119). Marketing (119). Killing (120). Dressing (120). Pack- 
ing (121) 107-121 

CHAPTER XI.— General Information About Geese (122-130). Breeding Sea- 
son (130-132). Goslings: Care and Feeding (133-135). Fatten- 
ing (135-138). Killing and Picking (138-141) 122-111 



Plate 


No. 


1. 


Plate 


No. 


2. 


Plate 


No. 


3. 


Plate 


No. 


4. 


Plate 


No. 


5. 


Plate 


No. 


6. 


Plate 


No. 


7. 


Plate 


No. 


8. 


Plate 


No. 


9. 


Plate 


No. 


10. 


Plate 


No. 


11. 


Plate 


No. 


12. 


Plate 


No. 


13. 



Illustrations : 

Page. 

Michael K. Boyer 2 

Egg Yolk— 72 hours incubation 9 

Six days' incubation 13 

'Chick: Fifteenth day incubation 21 

Chick: Eighteenth day incubation 31 

Chick: Twenty-first day incubation 41 

William E. Rice, pigeon expert 51 

Homers at Work 61 

The outside fly or aviary 71 

A model house of five pens SI 

A pen of four months' old Homers 91 

Dressing squabs for market 101 

One hundred and six squabs ready for shipment Ill 



MONEY 

IN 



BROILERS AND SQUABS. 



CHAPTER I. 

A Small Beginning, and How the Broiler Industry Grew with the 
Advance made in Improved Machinery, Improved Ideas, and 
Improved Facilities Generally — Pointers Showing why so Many 
Failures in the Pioneer Days. 

Some years ago a broiler boom struck the country; but, like 
all unhealthy booms, the bottom soon dropped out of it. It was 
v.'ell that it did. The failures paved the way for better success — 
better appliances, better methods and a better market. 

Why the failures? Too many concerns heeded the false ad- 
vice to locate on "town lots", and to " buy the eggs". The author- 
ity of those days was not born of experience, and in consequence 
a false light was presented. No wonder they failed. Crowded on 
the rear of a town lot, and equipped with crude material and crude 
tools, it is a wonder that they ever raised a chicken for market. But 
the greatest loss came to those who were compelled to buy their 
eggs for hatching. They gathered them from everywhere. 
Teams would go among the farmers and buy what they had — all 
varieties, shapes and conditions. The majority of these eggs were 
more or less chilled. The only plants that made a success were 
those which either kept their own breeding stock, or had some egg 
farm supply them direct. 

Hammonton deserves the distinction of being the birthplace 
of the broiler industry. She laid the foundation, and her many 
failures have been the object lessons from which more careful and 
better equipped parties in other parts of the country profited. The 
writer came to Hammonton when a score or more broiler plants 
were in operation. To-day the number is considerably less, but the 
quality has greatly improved. 

What did Hammonton's failures teach? 

First. We must have one breed or one systematic cross, anc 
never rely upon eggs purchased just any and everywhere. 

Second. The "town lot" scheme is a dead failure. 



6 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Third. We must have improved machinery, and the number 
of good incubators and brooders on the market to-day have worked 
wonders in this particular. 

Fourth. We must have capital. No business will thrive with- 
out the investment of money, no matter how experienced the man 
may be. 

In short, a man to successfully raise broilers must have capital, 
patience, experience, ample territory, good stock, improved ma- 
chinery, and the necessary facilities. In the matter of houses there 
have been wonderful improvements made. 

But, with all this knowledge, and all these appliances, we do 
not have faith in exclusive broiler plants. We have witnessed the 
collapse of too many. As an adjunct to some other branch, it can 
be made very profitable. Combine it with egg farming, squab rais- 
ing, duck culture, fruit growing, or general trucking, and there will 
be a year round income. 

There is no branch of the poultry business that calls for such 
careful, patient work as does broiler raising. It requires constant 
application; it demands close attention every day of the week, and 
from early to late. That kind of work will quickly tire those who 
do not possess grit. Pluck and grit are two valuable ingredients 
in the broiler raiser's formulae for success. We never knew a man 
to succeed who was an easy victim of the "blues." 

It is a good thing that this work is so exacting, for were it an 
easy, happy-go-lucky job, how long would it be before we would be 
overrun with broiler establishments, and the price of that com- 
modity would not bring a profit in market. 

As it is none but the earnest, faithful workers succeed and they 
fully deserve the reward they reap. 

The pioneers in the broiler business were men of limited cap- 
ital, crude facilities and practically no experience. When improved 
incubators and brooding systems were placed upon the market, an- 
other class became interested — men of capital. The latter erected 
large houses, equipped everything on the wholesale plan, went at 
it on a big scale, and hired an "expert" to run the business. With 
what result? A total collapse. The expert was working for his 
stated salary; he was not economical in his expense account, and 
became extravagant beyond measure. 

"There's plenty of money back of it" became the excuse for 
"making a good thing out of it." The loss of the capitalist did not 
fall so heavily upon him as it did upon the poor fellow who had 
invested every dollar he had in this world, and who besides was as 
deficient of practical ideas as he was of cold cash. 

To be brief, the cause of the failures in Hammonton — and they 
might also be extended to beginners in general — are: 

Debt. They either borrowed the capital to secure the plant, 
or they had to ask credit for the feed and running expenses, as they 
invested every dollar in making the start. 

Stale and Chilled Eggs. This resulted from their custom of 
buying up eggs among farmers. As they paid a few cents more 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 7 

per dozen, than the market price, farmers "saved them up", and as 
the average farmer pays little or no attention to the age and protec- 
tion of his eggs, a bigger part of them were stale and chilled when 
they reached the incubator. 

Carelessness in attending to the business ; "putting off until to- 
morrow what should have been done to-day." 

Inexperience. Without knowledge a man does not know how 
to treat matters so that they will give the best results ; neither does 
he know how to meet trouble when it comes. The more experi- 
enced a man becomes, the more easy will be the sailing. It is a 
fact that nine-tenths of the troubles that fall to the lot of the novice, 
do not come to the expert, for experience has taught the latter how 
to avoid them. As one becomes more learned in this art, he reali- 
zes the truth of the maxim : "Prevention is better than cure." 

Overcrowding. This is a fault too many are guilty of. It is 
dangerous ground to tread upon. Overcrowding teaches vices 
among stock; it causes the fowls to overheat at night; it means 
crushing out the life of the weaker chicks. In short, it means con- 
tinual trouble. It must be avoided by all means. Small flocks are 
always the most profitable. 

Rented Ground. It is a mistake to rent the land upon which 
you erect your buildings. No man wishes to risk good substantial 
buildings upon the ground that does not belong to him. Even if 
he had a provision in his agreement to be allowed to move the build- 
ings at any time he wishes, the cost of moving, and the racking of 
the houses, would be too great for profit. The result is, just any 
sort of a building is provided, a serious handicap to the success 
of the business. 

Lack of System. This is too often found on the average plant 
of the beginner. He wastes time, feed, room and everything neces- 
sary for good results. Work systematically done will bear good 
fruit. Helter-skelter methods never benefited any vocation, and 
it certainly cannot the broiler industry. Make good plans and good 
rules, and follow them out to the letter. 

Too Little Capital. What a common failing. It takes money 
to make money. The expense of a plant should be met, not with 
borrowed capital, but with cash that belongs to no one but the 
party starting. There should be sufficient left for fully a year's 
operation, so that feed bills, family expenses, and miscellaneous 
items can be met. This is the only safe beginning to make. Even 
an expert will profit nothing if he has not the cash to encourage his 
work. The best physician in the world cannot treat his patients 
if deprived of his medicines. So with the broiler raiser. 

That Tired Feeling. This condition has given serious blows 
to several plants within the knowledge of the writer. "That tired 
feeling" is akin to laziness. The man who is not ambitious, ener- 
getic and wide awake would fail at gathering gold nuggets. The 
repetition of each day's work ; the sameness of that work, has been 
the leak that has too often sunk the most promising enterprises. 



8 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Neglect of small details comes to the man who puts them off be- 
cause he feels lazy to-day and "to-morrow will do just as well." 
Take all the rest you need, but let there be time for work and a 
time for rest. Do business during business hours. 

We could still further enumerate, but we have said enough to 
point out why the failures in Hammonton, and why the failures in 
this line generally. 

One lesson taught in particular by the experiences of Ham- 
monton, was that no broiler plant can be operated by an inexperi- 
enced person. It is not reasonable to suppose that any business 
can be run by "greenhorns." Operating incubators and brooders 
calls for knowledge, born of experience. Books are invaluable in 
pointing out the way, but it remains for us to work the problem. 
Experience is often a dear teacher, but it is a valuable and thorough 
instructor. For that reason it is necessary to begin in a small way 
and gradually work to the front. 

The early broiler raisers of Hammonton realized as much as 
eighty cents a pound for plump broilers weighing about a pound 
and a half each. We do not get such prices at the present day. 
At that time they were considered a luxury, and only the rich could 
enjoy them. Broilers are now offered at such figures that all can 
have a taste of them. The demand is growing, but I do not believe 
we will ever reach the high prices of twenty or more years ago. 

With all that, however, I believe the broiler raisers of to-day 
are making more money with the present prices, than they realized 
at any time before. In the days of eighty-cents-a-pound the incu- 
bators were crude affairs, large boxes with galvanized iron tanks in 
them, which were kept full of boiling hot water during incubation. 
Each day a certain amount of this water had to be drawn off, and an 
equal amount of hot boiling water added. This regulated the tem- 
perature. The eggs were kept in a large drawer in the machine, 
and when the operator wished to know the temperature he had to 
pull open this drawer, thus giving a chill to the eggs, as well as 
greatly reduce the temperature. Ventilation in the machine was 
very poorly furnished, about the best provision was by pipes in the 
bottom of the machine, which took in air near the floor of the incu- 
bator room, and conveyed it to the egg chamber. Moisture was 
handled by means of wet sponges, and this was liberally given. We 
saw hatches where the chicks looked as if they had been drawn 
through a stream of water. Once in a while hatches would come off 
on time, but the majority of them were a week or so late, produc- 
ing weak, puny stock. The brooders were still worse — crude boxes 
with a strong bottom heat furnished by lamps. 

July i st, 1903, we furnished Farm-Poultry, of Boston, Mass., 
with facts of early-day work, and from this article we make the fol- 
lowing extracts: 

"Poorly hatched and poorly brooded chicks furnished good 
grounds for the belief that artificially hatched chickens were not 
as strong and vigorous as those brought out under the hen. And 
they were not. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 9 

"But matters have greatly changed of late years. We have 
incubators and brooders that are reliable, safe and practical. Some 
years ago there were a number of poorly constructed makes upon 
the market; in fact, they were machines that did the cause more 
harm than good, but the advent of improved machinery — invented 
and built by practical poultrymen — have crowded to the wall in- 
ferior makes. We, too, have better brooders and brooding systems 
now than we had a half a dozen years ago, but there still remains 
room for considerable improvement in this direction. 

"With this improvement of the machinery, with a better 
knowledge of what to feed, and how to feed it, and with a better 
system of marketing, it costs a third, if not a half, less to raise a 
broiler now than it did in the days when eighty cents a pound was 
realized. The hatches are better because of our improved facili- 




P.ate No. 2.— EGG YOI.K— 72 hours incubation 



ties, and the mortality is less for the reason that we better under- 
stand the needs of the little chick from the time it leaves the shell 
until it falls a prey to the man who prepares it for market. 

"Hence, at forty cents a pound our poultrymen to-day are 
realizing as much profit as they did in the days of double the 
amount." 

The broiler business offers inducements to the man who has 
pluck, energy and cash. He must not be an impatient, easily-dis- 
couraged fellow. He must be on the constant lookout, and always 
aim to nip trouble in the bud. He must not undertake too much 

must begin with a small plant and gradually build it up to what 

he considers an ideal one. A man should not undertake any busi- 
ness he cannot give the best of personal attention. Hire men 
to assist you, and not to manage ; do that part yourself. The busi- 
ness requires an overseer with brains more than with muscle. 

As we have already hinted, an exclusive broiler farm is. as 



10 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

a rule, a failure. Too much depends upon it. As an adjunct it is 
profitable. We never heard of an exclusive broiler farm that was 
successful, but A. F. Hunter, of the Reliable Poultry Journal, 
Quincy, Illinois,- unearthed one at Yardley, Pennsylvania, and 
which had been in operation for fifteen years. It occupied but an 
acre of ground, and on the day of his visit, Mr. Hunter saw about 
three thousand chicks, ranging from a day to six weeks of age. 
The time of the year was September 14th. According to the 
table of shipments and returns, the market price reached fifty cents 
per pound in April, and dropped to twenty cents in August. A drop 
of ten cents a pound is given from April down. From 9,000 eggs 
placed in the incubators, 4,500 chicks were raised, either to market 
size or sold as half-grown pullets, or were there as well-matured 
pullets. 

Mr. T., the proprietor of the broiler farm referred to, places 
the cost of a two pound broiler at twenty-five cents. He counts 
two eggs to produce it, the cost of which is five cents; labor, seven 
cents ; feed, eight cents ; picking, five cents. 

Fifteen years ago the author of this book made a careful in- 
vestigation of the cost of producing a broiler of two pounds in 
weight, and found it cost an average of fifteen cents per pound. 
Also that, as a rule, we could rely upon but fifty per cent results 
from our eggs. Mr. T. — fifteen years after that statement of ours 
was published — practically endorses it. He produces the two pound 
broiler for twenty-five cents ; we could not for less than thirty cents, 
"but Mr. T. is buying his feed in ton lots, while we paid the hun- 
dredweight price. That difference in price really represents the 
difference in cost of feed. 

Twelve weeks should be the two-pound broiler age. If the 
chicks are from hardy parents, and are properly hatched, brooded 
and fed, and also are from a distinct breed or cross, they can be 
grown ready for market by that time. One pound broilers can be 
had in from six to eight weeks ; one and a half pounds in from eight 
to ten weeks. 

The best broilers come from our American breeds— Plymouth 
Rocks, Wyandottes and Rhode Island Reds. The most popular 
variety of the American class is conceded to be the White Wyan- 
dottes. They make a plump broiler, are good growers, and furnish 
neat and attractive carcasses. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs, n 



CHAPTER II. 



A Miscellaneous Batch of Pointers Invaluable to Broiler Raisers. 

Will it pay to raise broilers the year 'round? Much depends 
upon the markets. In South Jersey, for instance, there is a con- 
stant demand — New York and Philadelphia buying them during 
the regular season, and Atlantic City, Ocean City, Cape May and 
other seaside resorts calling for them in summer. Ordinarily, how- 
ever, where there are no nearby resorts, it is hardly profitable to 
raise them outside of the season, which is January to June — the 
market season runs from April to and including August. 

The term "Philadelphia Broilers" is merely a trade name, and 
does not signify that the birds were grown in or about Philadelphia. 
Nearly all of the product that sell under that name, come from New 
Jersey, and some from the eastern part of Pennsylvania. The repu- 
tation for Philadelphia Broilers has been well earned, they being 
superior in both appearance and condition, and quickly find a sale. 

There is nothing that will help the demand for a product so 
readily as a good reputation. The only way to establish it is to 
advertise, and we know of no better method than by tagging every 
carcass. A small, neat tag can be printed, on which should be 
given the name and address of the farm. It will teach customers to 
call for your goods, and will eventually lead to better prices. . 

Beginners very often make the mistake of giving their broilers 
range. The) do not want the exercise that young stock intended 
for breeding purposes need. You can never get the plump, juicy, 
tender broiler in any other way than by confining them in limited 
runs, and feeding the choicest food. 

A broiler must not weigh over two pounds dressed. If it does, 
it enters the Spring chicken class. The market calls more for one- 
and-a-half pound broilers than it does any other weight. Gener- 
ally, March demands a one-and-a-quarter pound ; April, one-and-a- 
half pound ; May, one-and-a-quarter to two pounds. 

An attractive broiler will have a full breast, a broad back, and 
a plump body. Never market big combed or feathered-leg broilers. 
Superior broilers are quick grown. 

Arthur G. Duston, who at one time was the most extensive 
broiler raiser in New England, prefers the White Wyandotte to any 
other breed for broilers. Even for light weights he found the other 
breeds unsatisfactory. He finds the breed will stand forcing un- 
commonly well. 



12 Money in Broilers and Squabs, 

A gilt-eclged broiler should have a short head ; a broad, deep r 
full breast ; a small rose or pea comb ; weight from one-and-a-half to 
two pounds ; short, deep, well-rounded body ; short and broad back, 
at the shoulders; rich, yellow skin, free from pin feathers; short 
and stout thighs, short and stout shanks, free from feathers and 
bright yellow in color. Note how well the White Wyandotte fits 
that standard. 

A fat chicken is always desirable, and a full plump body and 
limbs will go a long way toward finding a customer. Most of the 
chickens sent to market are lean and lanky. 

Broilers hatched in October, November and December, will 
come in for good prices in January, February and March, in many 
sections of the country. It is the wise man who investigates his 
market requirements before he starts operations. 

To have superior broilers, we must take good care of the par- 
ent stock. Overfat parents produce weak chicks ; ailing parents 
give us sickly chicks ; while strong, vigorous parents give us the 
ideal chicks that can be profitably grown as broilers. 

The American Stock-Keeper says : When mating for flesh, the 
cock should never be even moderately long-legged, unless the hen 
is usually short-legged, for the cockerels from such a sire will 
be gawky and stilty in form when sent to market at an immature 
age. His breast should be broad, full and round, and his back 
broad. 

Broilers shrink about a half pound each when dressed, so in 
catching birds for market, due allowance must be made. A bird 
weighing two pounds live, will be about one-and-a-half pounds 
dressed. 

The broiler market practically begins in February, improves 
in March, and reaches the highest point in April. Then it gradu- 
ally declines, by August it is very fluctuating. During October, 
November and December there is very little demand for broilers. 

At one time it was feared that the refrigerator industry would 
cripple the fresh-broiler trade, but the public was not so easily 
duped. The refrigerator trade allowed speculators to palm off 
frozen and thawed-out stock, to an unsuspecting public, as fresh, but 
refrigerator stock is not in competition with choice fresh birds, 
when placed upon the market. The Rural New Yorker setae years 
ago told how a certain New York retailer thawed out some chickens, 
brought out of a refrigerator, and which had been frozen solid for 
months. They were placed into cold water and allowed to remain 
for a time. They came out as fresh looking as if they had been 
killed the day before — and that is the kind of "chicken" the city 
folks are often compelled to feast upon. 

The middle of July is pre-eminently the season for Spring 
chickens, says the New York Tribune. The delicious broiler is 
then at the lowest price. Fried chicken was the delight of old 
Southern cooks of ante-bellam days, and was served with the sweet- 
est and lightest of pone bread. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



*3 



In France and England the broiler is of little importance, the 
roasting fowl being preferred. 

"Squab broilers" must not exceed three-quarters of a pound 
dressed. They sell best during January and February. The increase 
of the squab pigeon business is hurting the "squab broiler" boom. 

Chickens two pounds or under are known as broilers (in some 
sections of Pennsylvania they are called barbecues). Over two 
pounds in weight up to four, they are classified as Spring chickens. 
Over that weight they go as stewing or roasting fowls. Broilers in 
some parts of the country are also known as frying chickens. The 
Spring chicken is introduced about April. It is the broiler's sub- 
stitute. 




Plate 3— SIX DAYS INCUBATION" 

In the Chicago market the best broiler prices are realized from 
March to July. 

Chickens sent to market should never be drawn. Dr. P. T. 
Woods claims that the undrawn carcass is objectionable because of 
the possibilities of osmosis carrying taint or poisonous matter to the 
flesh. This point is exaggerated by writers of hygiene and those 
who favor market poultry. Granted that in some cases where 
fowls are not properly handled, there exists a possibility of infec- 
tion of the meat, it is not half so dangerous as the many chances 
of infection in drawn fowls. As a matter of fact, where the bird 
is properlv handled before killing, the chance of infection is practi- 
cally nil. 



14 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

We cannot control the carcass after it leaves our hands to go to 
market, says Dr. Woods. If it is drawn, and has any distance to 
go, it may mould inside ; or if a fly does not "blow" in it, there is a 
large exposed surface hidden from sight, which may become in- 
fected by some means during transit. If mouldy, sour, or fly blown 
(if it travels any distance, it is pretty sure to be one of these, or 
all three), it is no longer saleable, at least for anything like a fair 
price, and it is not desirable as food. 

Dr. Woods "hits the nail upon the head" in the following selec- 
tion from his article in "Farm-Poultry:" "In dealing with market 
poultry we have to deal with many unknown factors. So far as I 
am concerned, I had rather take my chances on an undrawn fowl, 
no matter how poorly handled before being killed, than to have a 
fowl that has had the filthy fingers of some person unknown (per- 
haps diseased) scratching about tearing out the entrailes, and fol- 
lowing up the operation with washing out the carcass with not over- 
clean water. The chances of infection from such sources are far 
more numerous than any that may exist from the intestinal contents 
and possible osmosis. Again, if the intestines are left in,'you have 
the opportunity of learning something about the fowl's condition 
at the time it was killed and whether or not it was healthy." 

The marketmen are in the business for what there is in it, and 
it is for their interest to keep and sell the best. It is necessary to 
expose their goods for sale and a carcass of drawn poultry hung in 
the market stall makes an ideal place for a fly to get into the ab- 
dominal cavity out of sight, and deposit its eggs, says Dr. Woods. 
The result is that the customer finds the carcass "fly blown" or 
worse — maggoty. The result is not pleasing to the marketman 
or the purchaser. As a matter of fact, opening up the abdominal 
cavity and removing the viscera exposes a larger surface to bac- 
teria infection, while in the undrawn fowl the infection if any is 
confined in the intestines, except such of the objectionable matter 
which may pass through the walls of the intestines by osmosis. If 
poultry is properly handled before killing, and is properly cooled 
before packing, there will be very little if any contamination from 
the empty intestines. 

The first requisite for success in market poultry is the judicious 
selection of a variety for the purpose intended, says the Prairie 
Farmer. For the purpose under consideration, pure-bred fowls 
are so far superior to mongrel stock, that no one who desires to 
make the best of it should for a moment entertain the idea of using 
mongrel or mixed varieties. 

Here are some important facts to remember in shipping broil- 
ers to market : If possible, never ship dressed poultry in warm, damp 
weather. Don't ship bony, skinny stock and expect fat prices. 
Don't ship dressed poultry half-picked, with flesh torn in places, 
and then blame your commission man if his report shows sales un- 
der the market price. Don't ship to every strange house that so- 
licits your consignment. Look them up first. When a house asks 
you to investigate its references, do so. Oftentimes you will con- 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 15 

elude not to ship, and thereby save your stuff. Don't ship dressed 
stock in any old box that is handy. It pays to use clean, fresh 
boxes, using care and* neatness in packing. Frequently the buyer 
is present when the box is opened, and a sale spoiled because of 
the packing. Don't pack poultry after dressed, until all the animal 
heat is out. Don't let some little market fluster cause you to 
change houses. Get a good, solid house and stick to it. That 
keeps the commission man interested in retaining your trade, and 
oftentimes he will put you out of a hole caused by a glut. Don't 
fail to carefully inspect your shipment before closing the box. Put 
in the memorandum on your own billhead or envelope, showing the 
count and other data. Keep a duplicate 3^ourself, and thereby 
save much annoyance and frequently a loss. Don't chase off into a 
new market with untried people, just because of a possible tempo- 
rary advantage. Nine times out of ten you will lose. Keep in 
touch with a good house in several markets, and use judgment in 
shipping to any of them. Don't fail to notify your commission 
house before or at the time you ship, and give full data, so he can 
know what is coming, and can prepare to handle it rapidly. On this 
great point hundreds of dollars are lost every week which would be 
saved if shippers would advise several days before shipping, giving 
the receiver time to reply, if advisable, to hold back. 

Never send fowl to market that has a full crop. Remember,, 
dry-picked poultry will stand longer shipments. Never pack culls 
with good stock. Keep each in separate lots. 

Arthur Duston says it is generally the bird than can stand the 
greatest amount of food that makes the quickest grown broiler, and 
must be the bird you should adopt, as every additional day means 
additional cost for labor, coal and food. 

When hatching and raising for early broilers especially, the 
Maine Farmer says there is not much difference in the breeds, as 
during the first six weeks chicks of the different breeds weigh 
pretty much the same; but after that age the difference begins, and 
there will be a steady and continuous gain on the part of the larger 
breeds, that at maturity is often very considerable. 

Iowa Homestead says some people are in such a hurry to have 
their chicks grow to broiler size that they begin stuffing them with 
any and everything they will eat, and usually end by losing the 
majority of the stock by indigestion or bowel trouble. Then they 
will look wise and talk about cholera, damp weather, etc., when the 
trouble really was too rich food fed too early in life. 

The New York Produce Review says some poultry raisers make 
a practice of keeping pure-bred male birds and scrub hens, whereby 
a good grade of market poultry is produced. These growers would 
find it little more expensive to get pure-bred hens and raise pure- 
bred poultry, and in most cases the full-blooded stock would com- 
mand a premium even if marketed in the wholesale market alive. . 

The poulterer who places upon the table a plump, juicy broiler, 
is entitled to as much respect as the planter who furnishes flour, 
or the cattle king who rai&es beef. 



16 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Given healthy life and intelligent attention, the little chicks may 
be expected to start with one and a quarter ounce in weight — for the 
production of life causes a loss of just about one-half the weight of 
the egg, says an exchange. At the end of one week the chick should 
weigh two ounces ; two weeks, four ounces ; three weeks, six and a 
quarter ounces ; four weeks, ten ounces ; five weeks, fourteen ounces ; 
seven weeks, twenty-three and a half ounces ; eight weeks, twenty- 
eight ounces; nine weeks, thirty-two ounces; ten weeks, thirty-six 
ounces. 

"Asparagus chickens" are large enough to broil with early as- 
paragus. They are hatched in late July and August, pushed along 
till November, then killed and put in cold-storage for the winter. 
They are taken out and eaten in Spring. 

Poultry commission merchants say that one reason why a great 
many shippers are disappointed in the prices they receive on good 
poultry is that they persist in shipping stock of sizes which are not 
in demand. 

The New York city markets will take poultry either scalded or 
dry-picked. Boston market wants only dry-picked stock. Chicago 
markets prefer chickens, ducks and geese scalded, and turkeys dry- 
picked. 

The commission merchant does not fix the price. He can only 
obtain what his customers allow. When the market is full, the cus- 
tomers have a larger stock from which to select, and they always 
select the best, leaving the second-class stock to be sold at hazard- 
ous prices. 

Thomas F. Jager says the broiler industry is considered, by 
men who have experimented in this line long enough to be entitled 
to a standing, as one of the main sources of profit in the market 
poultry business ; especially, if the turning out of birds can be ac- 
complished prior to the hand-raised stock, as furnished the cities by 
the farmers or small land owners. 

The first essential, continues Mr. Jager, in order to succeed 
as a broiler man or woman — for this branch holds great promises for 
the gentle sex — is to have good healthy breeding stock. That means 
stock not hampered or forced while young, or where the parents 
have been inbred to get a certain lacing or tip to the feather. The 
broiler man does not care a rap for the plumage condition of his 
breeding stock, as long as the natural vigor and stamina and char- 
acteristics to impart to the offspring plumpness of body are found. 

Farm Journal says, in calculating what young broilers will 
weigh when prepared for market, get the live weight and deduct 
twelve per cent, and you have the dressed weight. 

W. Theo* Wittman, in American Poultry Advocate, says : 
"Squab broilers for home consumption are easiest dressed by skin- 
ning. Slit the skin along the back, and taking off both skin and 
feathers is the work of only a minute, while picking the feathers 
and pin feathers off a lot of squab broilers is the work of hours. 
Boiled for a few minutes in salted water, and fried in butter, gives 
you a dish equal to frogs' legs." 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 17 

Squab broilers may be grown in eight or ten weeks in brooders, 
kept in a room where the temperature is about seventy degrees. 
The Rhode Island Experiment Station found that when marketed 
at this age, they could be successfully raised without any outdoor 
exercise. 

The following interview between the editor of the Poultry 
Monthly and a large New York commission firm, contains valuable 
information : 

"What size broiler will be mostly in demand during Septem- 
ber?" I asked Mr. Van Ostrand, of the firm of Knapp & Van 
Ostrand. "About two pounds each. That is a very popular size at 
almost any time of year ; a broiler of that size enables a restaurant 
to serve a half chicken and give a goodsized portion to a patron. 
From one and one-half to two pounds is the best all-around weight." 
"How about the demand for squab broilers?" "There is little de- 
mand for them now. The greatest demand is in Spring when game 
birds are scarce, and a small bird is in demand in restaurants. They 
should weigh from three-fourths to one pound. There would be 
no sale for them now at prices that would make it profitable to make 
a specialty of them, because there are so many chickens coming in 
from the West, and among them can be found all the small chick- 
ens required, at low prices. Many who ship squab broilers make a 
great mistake in sending such bony, poor ones. I have seen many 
of them that were but skin and bones. They must be plump, with 
some meat on the bones." One has only to go through the markets 
to have these facts about the shipment of poor stock verified. I 
have seen many a coop of live chickens that would not weigh more 
than one-half pound each, and were miserably poor and thin at that. 
The same is true of dressed broilers. Many people hear that some 
people have sold chicks weighing less than a pound each tor what 
seems like an extra price, and immediately a lot are sent without 
any knowledge of the demands of the market, or the prospects of 
sale. The demand for anything out of the usual order is always 
limited, and it is usually supplied by some one who is thoroughly 
posted, and is situated so close that he may watch the market. How- 
ever, it pays to study up these special products and demands, and 
then study tie question as to what can be done towards supplying 
them. But dDn't go it blind. 



18 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



CHAPTER III. 



What are the Drawbacks? — Profitable Way to Conduct the Busi- 
ness — Growing Small Broilers. 

Several years ago the writer wrote a number of broiler raisers, 
asking what they found to be the greatest drawbacks in raising 
chicks, and how they met them. Following are extracts from their 
replies : 

Austin Long, Pittsburgh, Kansas : "My biggest drawback in 
raising chicks is the wet weather, but I meet it with dry coops and 
small yards on the bare ground. I also feed dry food during rainy 
weather." 

Matt. G. Robson, Port Leyden, N. Y. ; "The path is full of 
drawbacks, but what one must do is to move them out of the way. 
Be determined not to be beaten. One drawback was not to own the 
place up to a year and a half ago. That was a serious drawback, as 
there are very few rented places that have a good hen house, or 
other poultry buildings. The result is you have to plan with what 
you have — and a lot out of your profits is to build and perhaps 
move the next year. Feeding rats, lice and strange cats and dogs 
is likewise a drawback. But whatever the stumbling block, keep 
right on trying till you finally win. The poultryman is not worth 
a tinker's cuss until he wins by his setbacks. The more drawbacks 
the better the poultryman, if he has grit to get out of them." 

Robert Atkins, Esopus, N. Y. : "Crows are our greatest draw- 
back, making it necessary to carefully yard all chicks. Gapes also 
keep us on the lookout. This we manage pretty well to avoid by 
cleanliness and dry coops." 

William G. Good, Bowmansville, Pa. : "The drawbacks are 
few, if proper care is given the stock. The poultryman has many 
duties to perform, and the neglect of one might bring failure." 

A. DeR. Meares, Hyattsville, Md. : "I have no drawbacks, as 
I give good attention to feeding and care, and have a good place 
for my stock." 

Charles A. French, Sandy Point, Maine : "I don't seem to have 
any. A few are born to die ; natural enemies get a few chicks in 
spite of vigilance. No fault to find with the existing scate of 
tilings." 

Emory E. Banks, Crittenden, N. Y. : "The worst drawback 1 
have in raising- chicks is varmints — and drowning bv storms in rais 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 19 

ing with brooders. The only way I find to prevent brooder chicks 
from drowning in sudden storms, is to enclose them in long yards 
having at each end the brooder in a shed or house, with a wide en- 
trance ; as wide as the whole side of the house is better. It is much 
safer to have shelter at both ends of the yards." 

P. F. Daniel, Atlanta, Ga. : "I have only one drawback this 
season — tuberculosis struck my brooders; which was a new disease 
to me. It took some time to locate it. I must give credit to the 
Rhode Island Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 61, for explaining 
the disease, cause and remedy — the latter, sunlight and fresh air, 
which is plentiful here in the Sunny South." 

Market poultry experts generally agree that the most profit- 1/ 
able way of conducting the business is to combine egg farming with 
broiler raising. In this way a regular income can be maintained the 
entire year. But just how the combination should be conducted all 
do not agree. 

Some say, make egg farming the prime object, and only hatch, 
broilers when there is no sale for eggs. We cannot exactly under- 
stand that logic, as there is constantly, every day in the year, a call 
for this article, and the supply does not equal the demand. It must 
be that the writer has reference to the retail trade. 

In some sections of the country eggs take a decided drop as 
soon as spring opens, while in other sections the prices remain good 
until summer. Where contracts are made at a certain figure for 
the entire year, of course it becomes another matter. 

To our liking, we should say, sell eggs as long as prices are 
good, and turn them into broilers when the price declines. We 
should sell them so long as the retail figure did not get below twenty 
cents a dozen, and begin incubation when that price was reached. 
We believe that it will pay better to turn eggs into carcasses than 
to sell at less than twenty cents a dozen. 

Some writers claim that to produce an egg costs one cent ; this 
would make their cost twelve cents a dozen, and anything over that 
would be clear profit. They will sell eggs so long as they can get 
eighteen cents, or over that ; at eighteen cents they have fifty per 
cent, profit, and they are content with that. 

Supposing that a dozen eggs cost twelve cents, and out of that 
dozen only four chicks were raised up to a marketable weight, and 
the total cost including price of eggs would be one dollar for those 
four broilers, and they brought one dollar a pair, the usual price in 
the New York market, there would be an even dollar profit. Of 
course in some sections of the country broilers would not bring one 
dollar a pair ; but then generally in such localities feed is Cheaper, 
which would about- equalize it, and besides we have given a very 
low percentage of hatch and rearing. 

TJiere is money in the broiler business, but it is a branch that 
must be entered carefully, managed diligently and perfectly under- 
stood, if success is to result. No amateur should start this branch 
on a large scale. He should begin at the very bottom of the ladder 
and carefully climb up. There is so much to know: First, how to 



20 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

run the incubators so that they will require less responsibility and 
do best work; second, how to brood the chicks so they will not be- 
come chilled and die from bowel troubles ; third, how to feed so that 
they will attain the desired weight without being- subject to leg- 
weakness and other troubles. All these matters must be carefully 
studied and watched. There is a big responsibility and the work 
requires "eternal vigilance." 

Egg farming is the easiest branch to follow. Start with that 
and let the broiler department be an adjunct. 

James Rankin believes there is more money in raising roasting 
fowls than broilers. Some others prefer capons ; but we are in- 
clined to think that the latter branch never will make any headway 
in this country. There is not enough demand for the capon carcass 
to make it an object. 

Squab culture, properly speaking, comes under the head of 
market poultry, and quite a number of market farms are adding the 
work to their line. 

There is money in raising ducklings for market, but it is a 
branch that requires more real hard work than any other. On Long 
Island, up in Massachusetts, in New York, in Pennsylvania, and in 
other parts of the country, quite a business is being established in 
this line ; and on many duck farms is made the combination of hen- 
egg production for market. 

Turkey rearing is profitable, but a good range is necessary ; so 
with goose farming. On this account we think these fowls are 
neglected on many farms. 

On farms where fancy fowls are reared and eggs sold for hatch- 
ing, it is not always advisable to sell pure-bred eggs in market for 
table purposes, as they do not always reach that end. So these fan- 
ciers add broiler or roaster raising as an adjunct; the birds being 
killed and dressed before going to market, there can be no chance 
of falling into the hands of undeserving parties who would use them 
for breeding purposes. 

There was a time when the fancier hated the marketman as 
much as one rival in business could despise the other; but after 
they became acquainted, after they found out that neither could do 
without the other, they combined, and to-day there are more fancy 
farms with market additions than farms on which the fancy alone 
is followed. 

It was a good change. After all, the only purpose for which 
poultry was created was for food. Fine feathers and high scores 
may attract the eye of those who love the beautiful ; but if this 
beauty is gained at the sacrifice of the utility qualities, it is only a 
matter of time before the breeds will drop down and out. Take, for 
instance, the once famous Black Spanish fowl. What more noble 
bird could have been created? What breed can give us the sized 
eggs for which they were noted ? Where are they to-day? A foolish 
standard called for a large white face, the larger the better, and 
to-day the Black Spanish is way in the background; and we say 
it is a most unfortunate affair. No breed ever made such a happy 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



21 



hit as did the Black Minorca, when it stepped in right at the time 
the Spanish were going backwards. A call for a huge crest likewise 
injured the once popular Polish fowl. 

Now, these remarks are not made to stir up a controversy, but 
are honestly given by one who has made poultry culture a study, 
and who devotes his entire time to the cause. We believe in poultry 
revenue, and the only way to get it is to come down to common- 
sense business principles and methods. 

The growing of small broilers, or squab broilers, as they are 
more familiarly known, is an industry that started out with bright 
prospects, but the sudden boom in squab pigeons seemed to cripple 




Plate 4— CHICK— Fifteenth Day Incubation. 

it considerably. Still there is room for the enterprise, and quite a 
number of farms are making a specialty of it. Following is 
a very complete account of the methods pursued in this branch. 
They are given by the superintendent of the Owls Nest Farm, Fram- 
ingham, Mass., and originally published in the "American Agricul- 
turist." The specialty is the growing of small broilers, which 
are sold at a weight of about three-fourths pound dressed. Chickens 
of this size are from five to eight weeks old, smaller than pigeons. 

Owls Nest Farm has been run for three or four years and has 
built up a large trade of the above description ; 285 of these small 
broilers were sold from January 1 to January 20, mostly to clubs 
and high-class private trade in Boston. This branch of the business 
is continued the year round, although prices grow lower. in .the sum- 
mer and fall. Incubators are started the last third of January, and 



22 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

from 8,000 to 10,000 chickens are hatched out during- the year. The 
breeds used for broilers are Wyandottes and Plymouth Rocks. Said 
Superintendent Woodland : "Even for light weight broilers such as 
we produce, the small breeds like the Leghorns are not satisfactory. 
They need to be two weeks older than the Plymouths to give the 
same weight. 

"The chickens are not fed for the first day after hatching. Their 
first food consists of broken crackers softened in water, cooked 
mush and bird seeds. They are fed very often at first, four or five 
times or oftener, each day. As soon as they get well started their 
main soft ration is a mixture of corn meal and middlings, half and 
half, which is made early in the morning and allowed to stand until 
about nine o'clock and fed warm. The first feed, fed very early in 
the morning, is hard grain. Cracked corn, cracked wheat or cracked 
oats are fed at noon and at night. They get one quart of meat scraps 
in the mash for each 2,000 chickens. For green food they have cab- 
bages to peck at, and clover hay steamed. Mica grit, charcoal and 
water are kept constantly by them. 

"They are kept warm by hot water pipes about six inches from 
the floor of the pen. Sand is filled in under the pipes to varying 
heights, according to the size of the chickens. The end of the pipes 
nearest the broiler are warmest and the youngest chickens are kept 
there. The great point in raising healthy winter chicks is to keep 
them from scratching. 

"The grain and bird seed is always fed in sand or litter in order 
to make the chickens work for it. All our chicks are raised by in- 
cubators and brooders, and by comparison with hens which are 
used some years we find that we can hatch and raise 25 per cent, 
more chicks by using incubators and brooders. 

"In finishing off the chickens for market, something depends 
upon our orders. When a lot of chickens are needed in a hurry two 
or three weeks hence, they are put in a fattening pen and fed all 
they will stand. Giving as great a variety of food as possible in 
feeding them. Just before they get all they want we takes the dishes 
away, leaving them a little hungry. Then the next feeding time 
they will be looking for more. They could not stand this high 
feeding process very long at a time, but when they are to go to 
market in two or three weeks, they can be quickest finished off in 
this manner. Chickens which are to be kept a longer time must be 
fed less, kept hungry all the time, so that they are ready to fly out 
of the pen when the man comes around with the feed. They must 
be kept scratching. The best we can do, we lose an average of 
three or four a day in winter." 

When the chickens are wanted for market they are carried in 
baskets to the killing house, where they are dispatched by stabbing 
the back of their mouth with a lancet. The head is not removed. 
They are not fed for twenty-four hours before killing and the en- 
trails are not removed. They are dry picked and packed in pairs in 
pasteboard boxes made to fit. There is an ice box for cooling the 
dressed poultry in summer. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs, 23 



CHAPTER IV. 



Artificial Methods, and Hints That Will Prove Valuable in Running 
Any Incubator or Brooder. 

"Be at your post!" is a command that must be strictly obeyed, 
for in operating incubators especially, it is a mistake to place too 
much reliance on their automatic appliances. Some machines re- 
quire more attention than others, but all must be regularly looked 
after, since it is impossible to install brains into the wooden hen. 

So much has been said and written upon this subject, that we 
will but briefly touch upon the different points to be considered. "A 
hint to the wise will be sufficient." We jot them down as they come 
to us: 

Never sprinkle the eggs while in the incubator. That was one 
of the earliest theories that the experts exploded. 

Always fill the lamps in the evening. This will make a stronger 
blaze and more surely carry the heat during the night. 

Never use oil less than 150 degrees test. Cheap oil is danger- 
ous oil. 

It is a good policy to begin each hatch with a new wick. 

The proper temperature for hatching is 103 degrees for an 
average. A few degrees above or below that mark will not do any 
serious damage. 

A dry cellar is the very best place for running an incubator. 

Never trim a wick; scrape off the charred part with a burnt 
match, or a piece of stick. 

Cooling the eggs makes strong chicks. 

The incubator room must be ventilated, but there should be 
no draughts. 

Never allow the lamp to become empty. 

Never have the incubator standing near a window. 

A good time to do the first testing of your eggs, is at the end 
of the first week. 

No moisture is required in the incubator if the air is humid. 

In testing a new machine, be sure to closely follow the instruc- 
tions as given by the manufacturer. 

Never turn nor cool the eggs after they begin pipping. 

Begin turning the eggs after the fourth day; turn them night 
and morning. 

Keep the burner free from dirt, and see that the little sieve on 
the burner is not closed up, so as to have a free circulation of air. 



24 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

If the temperature gets too high, the hatch will come off before 
it is due; and if too low, the hatch wift be delayed several days. 
Either extreme is detrimental to the strenjXh of the chicks. 

Never add eggs to the incubator after <you have started the 
hatch. 

Be careful that the flame of the lamp is not turned up so high 
that it will smoke. In this way soot is gathered and very often the 
machine is set on fire. 

Make a study of the air cells, and govern the treatment accord- 
ing to their size. 

In placing the eggs in the incubator, see that the large eggs are 
all pointing the same way in the trays. 

Sometimes a delayed hatch can be hastened by placing sponges, 
dipped in boiling water, in the machine. 

After the fourth day the eggs can be cooled, doing so only a 
little at first, and longer as the hatch progresses. 

If the air cell of the egg is very large, add moisture, and if very 
small, take away what water you have in the pans. 

After the eighteenth day, do not turn nor cool the hens' eggs. 

The air cell on the fifth day should measure about a quarter of 
an inch ; tenth day, half an inch ; fifteenth day, five-eighths inch ; 
nineteenth day, three-quarters inch. Take measurement from mid- 
dle of large end. 

Chilled eggs will not hatch. 

Be sure that your thermometer is correct. Nothing will do as 
deadly work as an inaccurate thermometer. 

Likewise see that the regulator really regulates. We have 
seen quite a number of regulators that needed regulating very badly. 

"Eternal vigilance" should be the watchword. There are so 
many little details in this work, that unless you give it the closest 
attention you will have trouble which is not so readily adjusted. 
The successful broiler raisers of to-day are those who "stick to the 
ship" from beginning to end. 

We have little or no faith in hygrometers or moisture gauges. 

After each hatch, see that the incubator is thoroughly cleaned 
and fumigated. 

To get the correct temperature of the egg chamber, see that 
the bulb of the thermometer rests upon a strong fertile egg. 

While you are cooling or turning the eggs, keep the incubator 
doors closed. Do not try to hatch duck eggs and hen eggs in the 
same machine at the same time. The conditions for each are dif- 
ferent. Neither place eggs of different varieties in the machine at 
the same time. A mixture of white and brown shelled eggs will 
give unsatisfactory hatches, for the reason that the brown shelled 
egg is a much harder shell and requires different treatment than 
does a white shelled one. 

Before you start the incubators in the house cellar, consult your 
insurance policy. Ten chances to one, there is a prohibitory clause 
in it which would cost you your insurance. 

Keep a record from the time you start the incubator until the 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 25 

hatch is completed, and note all changes and experiences. This 
will be furnishing you with valuable information ior subsequent 
hatches. 

Incubators can be successful in a room above ground providing 
the temperature of the room does not readily change. 

Fifty per cent, is the average hatch; and an average of fifty 
per cent, of chicks hatched are marketed. 

In cooling eggs, place a thermometer on them after they have 
been turned, and when 85 degrees are reached, return the tray to 
the machine. 

It is not always the fault of the incubator when the hatch is 
poor. Sometimes the eggs are to blame, but generally "the man 
behind the incubator" is at the bottom of the trouble. 

Bear in mind that the dryer the air, the more rapid is evapora- 
tion. 

Never have the flame ot the lamp higher than is strictly neces- 
sary. 

The eggs themselves throw off very little heat for the first two 
weeks. 

A high temperature during the early part of the hatch is apt to 
prove fatal. A temperature of no degrees on the eleventh day will 
not necessarily kill the hatch, unless it is allowed to continue too 
long. 

Rankin says that if no more water surface is exposed in warm 
weather than in cold, not more than one-half the moisture is se- 
cured. 

After removing the infertile eggs from the machine, spread out 
the fertile ones so that they occupy about the same relative position 
to one another. 

The greatest excess of heat for a short period, says Cyphers, 
can probably be withstood, after the sixteenth day, when the 
growth of the allantois is completed. 

C. E. Chapman, in "Rural New-Yorker," says enough extra 
eggs can be put on the trays to fill out the trays after the infertile 
ones are removed. He marked them "extras," and found that plac- 
ing them on top of the others for five days did no injury. This gives 
the full capacity for the whole hatch. If that method will hold good, 
it is valuable, but we very much doubt it. However, it may be 
worthy a trial by one of an experimental turn. 

A. J. Hallock says it will not pay to overcharge the machine, 
as recommended by Mr. Chapman, as the top eggs will be a degree 
or more hotter than the lower ones, which will be detrimental to 
the hatch. 

Cyphers, in his book on incubation, says he finds the temper- 
ature of the eggs will average up, at the end of the first day of in- 
cubation, at about gy}4 degrees ; at the end of the second day, 98*4 
degrees ; and from this time on will gain uniformly one-fourth de- 
gree a day until the end of the eleventh day, having a temperature 
at that time of about 100^ degrees. During the next two days the 



26 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

temperature rises to ioiy 2 degrees or 102 degrees, and remains more 
or less stationary at 102 degrees until the end of incubation. 

When turning the eggs by the trayful, says Prof. Wheeler, turn 
slowly and not by a quick whirl. 

"My only guide in regulating moisture is to feel the air when I 
open the incubator doors," says James E. Rice. "It should have a 
warm, humid touch and a live smell." 

A uniform heat, and one that will not bring out the chicks 
ahead of time, is the most important. William H. Truslow thinks 

102 degrees on a reliable thermometer will give better results than 

103 degrees. 

Prof. William P. Wheeler says that unless the eggs are graded 
more evenly than seems possible in general practice, a slight per- 
centage of loss of the fertile eggs is unavoidable where a large num- 
ber of eggs are hatched in one machine. 

B. Holmes says weak germs in an egg from a hen out of con- 
dition, account for a part of the deaths in the shell. A hen may be 
out of condition one day and better the next; what affects one or 
more hens in a pen, may not affect all alike; therefore, the eggs 
from the same pen may vary in vigor from day to day, or week to 
week. 

William H. Truslow says he fears that none of the manufac- 
turers of incubators can, as yet, held a candle anywhere near a good 
sitting hen. But there are so many poor hens that will do every- 
thing but sit properly, that 1,000 eggs set in machines, even though 
they do not work quite satisfactorily, will usually give as many 
chicks as 1,000 eggs under hens, and a machine will sit when you 
can find no hens. 

Never remove the chicks from the incubator at night — wait un- 
til the next morning. 

James Rankin says he has kept eggs six weeks (for an experi- 
ment) and hatched about fifty per cent. It, however, is a poor pol- 
icy to keep eggs longer than one week for incubation ; the fresher 
they are the better the hatch and the stronger the chicks. 

In running the machine in a cool room, the moist air in the in- 
cubator will condense on the glass doors. 

James H. Seeley says eggs for hatching should be kept in a dry 
place at a temperature of 50 or 60 degrees. 

If possible, eggs of the same age should be set in each ma- 
chine, as old eggs need more moisture, on account of the air cell 
being larger. 

Never expose the incubator to sunlight. 

Pure air is necessary in the incubator room. 

Lamp trips are good so long as they work freely, but they are 
very apt to get out of order. 

Always run the incubator several days before putting in the 
eggs. Be sure that every part of it is working rightly. 

Never try to run the incubator in a room that is heated up dur- 
ing the day, and allowed to cool off at night. 

The "Reliable Poultry Journal" advises, for washing out the 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 27 

<egg chamber, trays and turning rack, if they are soiled or musty, to 
use hot water, into which a liberal amount of baking soda has been 
mixed. 

The same journal gives this method for keeping eggs for hatch- 
ing: Pack the eggs in boxes containing oats, bran or dry sawdust, 
filling the box full and screwing on the cover. You can now turn 
the eggs by simply turning the box half way over. The common 
way is to stand the eggs on end when placing them ; it does not make 
any difference which end. 

J. L. Campbell gives this method for determining the moisture 
in eggs. Try them in warm water at the end of two weeks. If they 
sink they are too moist. If they just float they are a little too moist. 
If they float high they are too dry; but if they float with a space 
which could be covered with a silver twenty-five cent piece, they 
are about right. This will be the average only, as some will be 
less and some a little more. Less is better than more. This is a 
reliable test in all cases, and one can prove it by trying it long 
enough and often enough. If the eggs float as stated, and a poor 
hatch results, the trouble must be looked for elsewhere. It will 
usually be found in the temperature. 

Fasten a card to each incubator, stating when the hatch was 
started, when the tests were made, number of infertile eggs, num- 
ber of chicks hatched, number dead in the shell, and a general de- 
scription of the conduct of the machine during the entire three 
weeks. 

In selecting eggs for hatching, do not use those undersized, 
neither extra large ones. As a rule double-yolked eggs will not 
hatch, while the extra small ones will give weak, puny chicks, if 
any. A rough-shelled or a thin-shelled egg should also be rejected, 
-t-ggs having a bad shape, or which have ridges around them, are 
very unreliable. 

It is a good plan to shift the trays each day from one section 
of the machine to the other. 

Have the regulator adjusted at one hundred degrees before put- 
ting in the eggs. 

A chick too weak to free itself from the shell, will be too weak 
to amount to anything afterwards. Better leave it alone. 

If the temperature of the machine runs down while the eggs 
are hatching, the chicks are apt to stick fast to the shell. 

A. F. Cooper says the four points of success with incubators 
are, first, even temperature of 103 degrees; second, fresh air; third, 
air-cell one-fourth to one-fifth the contents of the shell; fourth, 
cooling. 

H. S. Thompson, in "Farm-Poultry," gives this pointer: Cut 
two narrow cardboard strips for each of your egg trays. Write or 
print "Night" on one, and "Morning" on the other. Tack each one 
to the sides of the tray that show through the glass door. When 
turning your eggs see that the trays are shifted around so that the 
sign "Night" shows at night, and "Morning" in the morning. This 
will insure the even application of heat, which is so important. 



28 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

It is difficult to dry down the eggs in a damp cellar. 

Moisture pans in incubators should be above the eggs. 

S. C. Stubbs says he has found that it requires a higher average 
temperature, by about one-half a degree, when the eggs are cooled 
than when they are not. 

After the incubating season is over, place the burners in hot 
water, to which add about a tablespoonful of washing soda, and boil 
for several hours. This will thoroughly clean them of dirt and 
make them safer for another season. 

In selecting an incubator, says W. D. Rudd, it is of vital im- 
portance that a first-class one be chosen ; one that will not only 
hatch well, but hatch strong, healthy, vigorous chickens, for a 
chicken not well hatched had better remain in the shell. To start 
with a poor incubator at the opening of the season, is like planting 
a field with worthless seed, and waiting the entire summer for them 
to sprout. A complete flat failure is as certain in one case as the 
other. 

Campbell prefers an incubator room above ground. 

An unincubated egg is a very poor conductor of heat. The 
shell, however, is one of the very best conductors, and to it the more 
uniform heating of the egg is at first due. In illustration, Mr. Cy- 
phers says, if a piece of muslin be smoothly wrapped around an 
egg, it may be held in the flame of a lamp, until the whole egg is 
hardened, without the muslin burning, so rapidly does the shell con- 
duct the heat away. 

Do not be too hasty in removing the chicks from the incubator. 
It will be all the better to allow them to remain for twenty-four 
hours, so that they will be fully dried. 

In closing the incubator door, see that the jar has not put out 
the lamp flame. 

Don't lose sight of the fact that there is enough moisture in 
an egg to hatch it. Therefore, the art of properly applying venti- 
lation is of more importance than the moisture question. 

Eggs will stand a greater variation in temperature the last week 
of the hatch than they will the first. 

To test thermometers, place them in water, warmed to 102 de- 
grees, alongside a reliable physician's thermometer. Stir the water 
continually while testing. 

In airing eggs, Mr. Stevenson says, if the room is 40 to 50 de- 
grees, 10 to 15 minutes is long enough; while if 70 to 80 degrees. 
20 to 30 minutes is none too long. 

In a room of 60 degrees temperature, eggs will lose one degree 
in two minutes ; in 40 degrees, about one degree in one minute. 

If we run the ventilators one-third open in a room with a tem- 
perature of 40 degrees, they should be all the way open if the room 
should be 80 degrees. Always the warmer the room, the more ven- 
tilation should be given. The ventilation must, also, be regulated 
according to the atmosphere. Dry climates require much less ven- 
tilation than where the air is laden with moisture. The amount 
can be determined only by careful observation. If the chicks come 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 29 

out weak, and appear sticky, not drying off nicely, there has not 
been enough ventilation. 

"During the last week, an egg containing a living chick, will 
be one to two degrees warmer than an infertile egg directly beside 
it," says Mr. Stevenson. "Thus if the bulb were resting continually 
on an infertile or dead egg, we would be in the same fix as though 
the thermometer registered too low, and if changed from fertile to 
infertile, as would be the case were they not tested, we would be 
continually adjusting the regulator, and wondering why the ma- 
chine does not regulate itself more closely. On the whole, I prefer 
having the thermometer hung just above the eggs; in this way, we 
get the temperature of the egg chamber, and all eggs are subject to 
the same degree of heat, the same as when under a hen." 

In answering to the theory that cooling eggs is detrimental to 
the hatch, Mr. Stevenson, in "Rural New-Yorker," very wisely says : 
If the change from 103 degrees to 60 degrees or less for the few 
minutes required for turning, is too great, what about the sitting 
hen that comes off occasionally for food and water, even though the 
temperature is 20 degrees or less ? She will stay off in zero weather 
much longer than the time required to turn the eggs from an in- 
cubator. In my opinion, the change, if not long enough to chill the 
eggs, will give stronger chicks than the continually closed machine 
or the hen that sits more closely. It is much easier to get the de- 
sired air-space in the eggs when the incubator room is at 50 de- 
grees, than when at 80 degrees, and I find it much easier to get out 
good hatches of strong chicks in the early spring than in hot 
weather. 

By far more chicks never see daylight, or pass to rest quickly 
after hatching, on account of too much moisture than not enough, 
and unless sure the make of incubator and surrounding conditions 
require it, one should not use any moisture, or at least, not until 
the last few days of the hatch. Too much moisture will not only 
cause many chicks to die in the shell by causing an abnormal 
growth (the chick swelling so as to completely fill the shell, making 
it unable to turn and break its way out), but many of those that 
do hatch will not be much expense for feed, as they will not stay 
long. Some incubators will require moisture in the same room 
where others will do much better without any at all. There are a 
few machines that require the moisture pans to be filled at the be- 
ginning of the hatch and kept full, owing to their having both top 
and bottom ventilation, making a direct current of air passing 
through the egg chamber constantly. The best way to determine 
the amount of moisture required is to examine the eggs occasionally 
with an egg tester, and note how the air space is growing; unless 
it appear as though it will occupy more than one-third the shell by 
the end of the hatch, no moisture should be supplied. It is a good 
plan to set a hen at the same time one starts the incubator, and com- 
pare the eggs occasionally. 

Cripples are generally caused by being too long imprisoned in 
the shell. 



30 vloney in Broilers and Squabs. 

When eggs are overheated in the start, the chicks are generally 
found dead in the shell when the hatch is due. 

J. L. Campbell, the incubator expert, says : "Although I have: 
been raising chickens all my life, I learn something new every year.' : 

We do not believe that it is possible for any incubator to make 
a hatch, regardless of conditions, without some moisture. We know 
that under certain conditions it can be done, but not always. 

Turning eggs during incubation prevents the blood vessels 
growing fast to the shell. 

When chicks form near the small end of the egg they are apt to 
die in the shell. 

Always fill the incubator with eggs, when starting; a half-full: 
machine cannot do as satisfactory work on account of the amount 
of dead space. 

The correct position for eggs during incubation is on their 
sides with the large enel slightly higher. 

It is possible to make a good hatch without testing the eggs,, 
but such cases are rare and accidental. 

Sixty degrees will neither start nor chill the germs in the eggs r 
and will keep them good longer than any other temperature. 

Handle the eggs in the incubator as little as possible. Sweaty 
anel dirty hands stop the pores of the eggs, and may also impart de- 
lecterious odors when such eggs are returned to the incubator heat- 
There is not enough stress put on the importance of having strictly- 
clean hands when handling eggs in the course of incubation. The 
incubation of eggs may be stopped by what seems a very insignifi- 
cant cause. Avoid handling as much as possible. 

The following pointers are taken from an extended experience, 
and will be found useful : 

If you notice the chicks crowding, you will know that they are- 
suffering for more heat in the brooder. 

Where less than a thousand chicks are hatched a season, reliable 
sectional brooders are better and more economical than the pipe 
system. 

Seventy degrees is warm enough for chicks after they are three 
weeks old. 

When the chicks scatter about the brooder at night, they are 
comfortable, and all conditions are right. 

Ninety degrees is hot enough to start the chicks in the brood- 
ers. 

Cyphers says that chilled chicks, kept in a brooder where the 
temperature is up to ioo degrees, and fed on bread and milk, gene- 
rally recover. 

Make note of the number of chicks you put in the brooder, and 
have kept a memorandum of all deaths and, if possible, cause of 
same. 

Any good incubator will hatch eggs if rightly attended to, but 
raising the chicks after they are hatched is the rock that shipwrecks 
nine out of ten incipient poultrymen, truthfully states F. H. Rich- 
ardson, in ''Northwestern Horticulturist." 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



3* 



-Never use the full (advertised) capacity of the brooder. No 
more than fifty chicks should be kept in any brooder at one time. 

Too high temperature in the brooder will cause the chicks to 
"steam," resulting in loss. 

As the lamps in an outdoor brooder are enclosed in a small box, 
care must be taken that the flame is not too high, or it may collect 
soot and catch fire. 

Make the chicks exercise in the brooders. 




Plate 5 — CHICK— Eighteenth Day Incubation. 

Sixteen feet is long enough for an outside run for broiler 
chicks. 

Cooper says the usual rate of capacity is five lineal feet of 
brooders per one hundred chicks. 

Chicks in brooders during the summer need no heat, excepting 
a moderate temperature at night for the first week or two. Too 
much heat is fatal. 

W. H. Rudd, in "Poultry Monthly," says: "We want separate 



32 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

brooders and rooms and yards for each fifty chicks, and we heat 
each brooder separately. We never warm a brooder house except 
by the heat which incidentally escapes from the brooders, nor would 
we warm it even to prevent every chicken from freezing 1 to death, 
for in that event they escape the troubles of life, while we save the 
expense of feeding, and can bury them all in one large grave, which 
we prefer to having tnem die ten or a dozen at a time, as they 
surely would from the effects of a warmed brooder house, and in- 
volving the bother of several small funerals instead of one large 
one." 

Editor Drevenstedt hits the nail on the head in this : "Utilizing 
greenhouses for rearing chickens is one of those bright but foolish 
inspirations unfledged amateurs are guilty of. The whole atmos- 
phere of the greenhouse is death to chickenhood. Chickens, all re- 
ports to the contrary, are best raised under natural conditions, and 
that means in the open air, and on the good old sod. The reason 
why some varieties of fowls are delicate is because they have de- 
scended from parents that have been pampered, coddled and nursed 
into a state of dudish tenderness. Virility in chickenhood can only 
be obtained by following nature's laws. A chicken thus kept and 
treated is as hardy as an oak, and as tough as hickory." 

For convenience and comfort in attending to them during bad 
weather, place all outdoor brooders under sheds. 

Campbell recommends carpeting the floor of the brooder. 

A thorough painting of all the parts of a brooder with gasoline 
will do up the lice; the gasoline soon evaporates, leaving the brooder 
nice and clean. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. '33 



CHAPTER V. 



Artificial Methods as Given by Some of America's Greatest Experts. 

In 1891, Farm Journal published an article by M. Sumner 
Perkins, of Danvers, Mass., on hatching and rearing chickens in 
winter by artificial means. The article in question was awarded 
the prize of $25 offered by J. L. Campbell, West Elizabeth, Pa., 
manufacturer of the Eureka incubator, for the best essay on the* 
aforesaid subject. 

We make the following extracts from Mr. Perkin's article, 
which are worthy of note : 

"Broody hens are generally a very scarce article in winter time, 
so that the hatching of chickens in any numbers at this season 
must be effected solely through the instrumentality of the incuba- 
tor. Artificial hatching certainly does away with much labor and 
annoyance that is generally attendant upon the pursuence of natural 
methods ; and many persons find much more pleasure and satisfac- 
tion in running a good incubator than in attending to a sufficient 
number of broody hens to accomplish a like result. 

"As far as the best kind of ah incubator to be used is concerned, 
it is a notable fact that much more depends on the operator than 
on the machine. An expert, of knowledge and experience in arti- 
ficial hatching, will often be quite successful with the crudest form 
of an incubator, while the amateur, or ignorant person, will often 
fail with the most improved. It is true, however, that the higher 
priced class of machines are the best and give the most general 
satisfaction. It is always poor economy to be unduly influenced 
by cost in the purchase of an incubator. 

"Machines without means of automatic regulation are sold 
very cheaply; and, most invariably, they are of little value, for a 
first-class incubator, fully equipped in accordance with the present 
advanced ideas, in reference to artificial incubation, cannot be con- 
structed for a nominal sum. Good material and skilled workman- 
ship in the construction of an incubator, together with an efficient 
system of self regulation of the same, cannot be secured inexpen- 
sively, and a hatching machine without a heat regulator, is like 
a ship without a rudder. Disaster generally follows the use of the 
one as of the other. 

"The running of the incubator in a small way at first, merely 
in the line of an experiment, is often of incalculable value to the 
novice, the experience and knowledge so acquired, promoting a 



34 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

successful issue from the very beginning. The best location for an 
incubator is afforded by a cellar, or apartment wholly or partially 
underground. Here a uniform temperature is preserved, affected tc 
a minimum degree by the various climatic changes. Here also a 
firm foundation on which to set the machine is offered, and thus 
any jarring of the eggs is avoided. 

"Means of ventilation of the incubator room should always 
exist, and excessive dampness is undesirable. The incubator should 
be run empty for two or three days, or long enough to determine 
that it is working correctly and with precision, registering a tem- 
perature of from 102 degrees to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It is then 
ready for the reception of the eggs. 

"A word right here in regard to the selection of the eggs. First 
they must be fresh, and the fresher they are the better. All had 
better be less than a fortnight old. They should be of good size 
and regular in shape, the shells smooth, of a proper thickness and 
free from chalky formations. The superiority of large eggs for 
hatching is apparent. Large eggs have large yolks that supply 
more nourishment and induce an increased growth within the shell. 
Consequently, a plumper and stronger chick is hatched, one more 
sure to live and thrive. The eggs in the incubator must be regularly 
turned two or three times daily. In some machines this is accom- 
plished automatically by their own operation, and thus any hand 
labor in this direction is uncalled for. The eggs should always be 
tested and the infertile ones removed. The latter, if taken out early, 
are fit for culinary uses, or they may be saved and boiled for chicken 
feed. The first testing may be made at the end of the third day. 
A second one should be made as late as the end of the first week, 
for if the egg shells are dark colored, it is quite difficult to determine 
the character of the egg at first testing. Also the germs of some 
will have died after having started to develop, and these will need 
to be removed. Infertile eggs always have a clear, translucent 
look. Fertile eggs show the germ as a clot of blood, with veins 
radiating from it in every direction. Where the germ has died, a 
reddish suffusion of blood will be apparent. 

"The amount of moisture required for the egg chamber of the 
incubator can be estimated quite correctly after some experience, 
by the appearance or feeling of the egg shell. Indeed, if the ma- 
chine is stationed in a cellar, as before advised, little or no addi- 
tional moisture will be needed. We have made good hatches under 
such conditions, without the use of any artificial moisture whatever, 
and have learned of others being successful in the same manner. 

"The incubator needs some attention during hatching. The 
chickens as soon as hatched and dried should be transferred from 
the egg trays to the nursery, that they may not inconvenience others 
not yet out of the shell. All pipped eggs should be placed with the 
chipped side uppermost, that the chicks may have plenty cf air, and 
escape suffocation. Empty shells often impede the hatching by 
becoming attached to other eggs, and should therefore be removed 
as soon as present. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. , 35 

"Artificial assistance of chickens from the shell is seldom neces- 
sary, nor is it generally advisable, yet occasionally one will be 
found whose egress is hindered by an unnatural presentation, undue 
hardening of the covering membrane, or other adverse condition. 
In such case, a little judicious aid is effective, and serves to set the 
prisoner free. Extreme care must always be exercised that no 
hemorrhage be excited. Artificial incubation should always be 
prosecuted as smoothly as possible. It is true that chickens are 
sometimes hatched under extreme variations of temperature, yet. 
it is very doubtful if they ever make first-class fowls ; while we 
know that many chickens are hatched every year, that, owing tc 
some abuse (very possibly during incubation), either die young, or. 
at least, develope into stunted and deformed runts. Hence it is 
very essential that all natural conditions of incubation be fulfilled 
to the letter, every time. 

"Some people seem to think that when the chickens are 
hatched, the chief business is over, whereas, in reality it has just 
begun. There are many who have success in hatching, who ex- 
perience their trouble in rearing the chickens. Obviously the first 
thing to be provided, especially in winter, is suitable quarters. They 
must be warm, dry, well ventilated, and admit plenty of sunlight. 

"When a business is made of raising chickens and ducklings ori 
a large scale in winter, a long narrow building is generally con- 
structed, heated by hot water or steam pipes, and furnished on the 
south side with an abundance of window glass. In this case, one 
hot water boiler supplies all necessary warmth, and many chicks 
being under the same roof are conveniently cared for. Thus the 
cost of fuel for heating is reduced to its lowest figure, and labor is 
considerably economized throughout. This style of brooder is not 
adapted to the wants of the majority, however, who do a compara- 
tively small business. For the latter, small brooders or brooding 
houses, having a capacity of from fifty to one hundred chicks each, 
are much more suitable. There are both hot water and hot air. 
brooders, but the former are more generally used and are we think 
much better. Speaking in general, the hot water brooder is pro- 
vided with a small tank or boiler, which is filled with water and 
heated by a kerosene lamp. The hot water being conducted by 
iron pipes throughout the brooder and then returned to be reheated 
and sent on its way again. There are a great variety of kinds 
which differ much in detail of construction, but the majority are 
some modification of the above plan. As far as the best manner oJ 
application of heat is concerned, what appears to our mind as mosl 
sensible and natural, is to have the most of the warmth dissipated 
through the air above and around the chicks, with just enough bot- 
tom heat to keep the floor a little more than blood warm. 

"Outside runs are of course necessary to give the chicks exercise 
in the fresh air, on all pleasant days. These, for very young 
chickens, had best be covered with glass, partially at least, as well 
as the front of the brooder itself. It will be best in very cole 
weather to have the brooder stationed in some room or house in 



36 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

which the chill of the atmosphere has been taken off. If exposed 
to the severity of the weather, it will be necessary to build it much 
more warmly, as well as roomier, to allow greater freedom for the 
chickens to exercise, for they will of necessity be confined much 
more closely. 

"The floor of the brooder should be covered with dry loam, 
muck or fine sand. These are excellent disinfectants and absorbents, 
especially the first two. This material will need to be frequently 
renewed, in order to render the brooder sweet and wholesome. 

"The newly hatched chicken requires a temperature not much 
below one hundred degrees for its comfort. This may be gradually 
lowered as the age of chick advances. The chicks themselves will 
indicate by their appearance, whether they are comfortable or 
otherwise. If too cool, they will huddle closely together, and very 
likely some will be smothered or at least pressed out of shape. On 
the other hand, if too warm, they will appear lazy and inactive, 
weakness and disease being the result of such an evil. One of the 
most common ills to which little chickens are subject is diarrhoea. 
This is sometimes caused by improper food, but often it is the re- 
sult of catching cold. Hence it is very necessary that an even tem- 
perature exists at all times." 

The following pointers are taken from Poultry Keeper, 
Quincy, Ills. : 

If the chicks do not come out of the eggs until the 22d day, 
or longer, it indicates that the temperature of the egg drawer was 
too low. They should begin to pip on the 20th day. 

If they begin to come out on the 18th day it indicates that the 
average temperature was too high. 

If chicks come out weak it indicates either too high or too low 
temperature, or that the eggs were from immature pullets or over- 
fat hens. 

A young chick is naked, like a babe just born, the down being 
no protection, hence everything depends on plenty of heat. Better 
have the brooder too hot than too cold. If the chicks are with hens 
they must have a warm, light place, as a hen cannot raise chicks in 
winter any better than it can be done artificially, as it is not her 
natural period of the year for so doing. 

No thermometer is needed in the brooder, or under the hen. If 
the chicks crowd together especially at night, they need more 
warmth. When they shove their heads out of the sides of the 
brooder, or from undet the hen, the heat is just right. Whenever 
the chicks do not sleep near the edges of the brooder, but get as 
close to each other as possible, give more heat. 

When the chicks show signs of leg weakness, have clogging of 
the vent, and bowel disease results, there is a lack of warmth in the 
brooder, especially at night. The night is when the chicks meet 
with the greater number of difficulties. 

When chicks have leg weakness, and the floor of the brooder 
is very warm, the cause is too much bottom heat. Bottom heat is 
excellent for chicks until they are a week old, but after that time 
there should be only warmth enough on the floor to not have the 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 37 

floor cold. All warmth should come over the chicks. They feel 
the warmth on the backs with more satisfaction than on any other 
portion of the body. 

A single night may ruin all. Never let the brooder become 
cold for an hour. Once the chicks get chilled they never fully re- 
cover. 

When the chicks seem to be continually crying it means more 
warmth needed. The warmth is more important than the food. 

If the chicks are stupid, drowsy, continually cry, or have fits, 
look on the heads and necks, and under the wings for the large lice. 
Also examine for the little red mites. „ 

Hatching should begin in October and end in April or May. 
The best prizes are obtained in April and May. 

It costs five cents in food to raise one pound of chick. The cost 
of eggs, labor, buildings, etc., are extra. The heaviest cost is in 
the eggs, (which are high in winter) as they often fail to hatch. 

Hens are better than pullets for producing broilers. The males 
should not be less than ten months old. 

Eggs from fat hens, moulting hens, immature pullets, or from 
hens in the yard with cocks having frosted combs, chilled eggs, 
very small eggs, will not give good results. 

In a majority of cases the failure is due to the eggs and not 
the incubator. 

Never try to save work. One-half the failures occur from par- 
ties desiring the incubator to work without attention. Too much 
faith in the regulator is dangerous. You must always be "on deck." 

If rightly managed an incubator will pay for itself the first 
hatch, but there is more in the man than in the incubator. Brains 
make an important factor. Learn all you can by observation. 

R. W. Davison, Glendola, N. J., says the most important step 
is first-class incubators, and he adds : 

"I always like an abundance of ventilation. Too much ventila- 
tion is not desirable, but after the chicks are nearly all out of the 
shell then we want plenty. I am led to this remark from the fact 
that I have owned machines that were lacking in this respect ; 
consequently the chicks had all they could do to keep alive, as they 
use up a great deal of air. Twenty-four hours after hatching they 
should be placed in the brooders. The brooder is the most im- 
portant part of the whole thing outside of the laying stock. I prefer 
a brooder with a good regulator, and, in fact, could not get along 
without one. I am using (on my coal stove and hot water pipe 
system) the regulator made by the Prairie State Incubator Co., 
only I connect the lever bar with a check draught on stove pipe, 
instead of with the stove lid, as they do. There are individual 
brooders also with regulators. The best plan is to have individual 
brooders in a nursery, and regulate the outside temperature with a 
small coal stove (in winter). After the chicks have been in here 
about ten days then remove to the regular brooding pens. 

"For the first twelve hours run the brooders at ninety-eight 
degrees, and then for the next ten days run at ninety-four degrees. 



38 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

"The next two weeks at ninety degrees to eighty-nine degrees, 
and after that from eighty-eight degrees to eighty degrees. Re- 
member that the degree of heat is the all important, and we should 
be just as careful here as in the incubator. 

"I will, however, go back to the incubator. I do not believe 
in moisture except after the eggs commence to pip. I have tried 
it with incubators in a cellar, and also above ground. The egg itself 
will tell us how to proceed. The evaporation of the egg is the 
guide. The chick must have room in which to turn itself while 
cracking around the shell. If too much moisture is used, the chick 
will grow too large, and being wedged in a house too small for it, 
will die. The ventilators in the incubator alone are to be de- 
pended on for proper evaporation of the egg. Each person will 
have to determine for himself just how much ventilation to give by 
frequently looking at the eggs (three or four) and not how the air 
space is growing. The evaporations should be gradual until by the 
eighteenth day the air space should occupy at least one fourth of 
the eggs, (some operators put it at one-third.) The principal of the 
thing is that the wider we open the ventilators the more air passes 
through the machine and the more moisture this dry air will extract 
from the egg. I usually commence by giving very little ventilation 
the first week, and then, gradually giving more until the eggs are 
evaporated about right, and then when they commence to pip I 
give a little moisture, and partly close the ventilators until all are 
out. Of course the machine will have something to do with this. 
I now have one machine in which I have to give all the ventilation I 
can from the start, (the ventilation is poor) while in other machines 
I run as stated above. 

"In cold weather less ventilation should be given than in warm, 
for the greater the difference between outside and inside tempera- 
ture the greater will be the amount of air that will pass through the 
machine. I think we all understand that principal. I have demon- 
strated, to my own personal satisfaction, that there is money in 
broilers when it is combined with eggs, or eggs and fruit. There 
should be not less than twenty acres of land with the plant and the 
more the better. Just so soon as the people learn all these under- 
lying principles that go to make up the full rounded whole, then, 
and not till then, will there cease to be failures. One very impor- 
tant point to be considered is that we should aim to have something 
to sell at all seasons of the year." 

"One of the prettiest sights I know of is a brooder full of little 
chicks from one to ten days old," says a correspondent of the New 
York Tribune. "I never grow weary watching their graceful mo- 
tions as they deport themselves in their little playground, indus- 
triously scratching in the clean sand, playing at leapfrog or contest- 
ing the possession of a toothsome morsel of meat or bread crumb, 
keeping up meanwhile a ceaseless chatter. The pleasing sight of 
heightened if they belong to a variety of breeds. But to raise these 
little animated puffballs is where the work and skill comes in. To 
bring them safely through all the perils of babyhood and feathering- 
out — there's the rub. To keep them well is the secret of success. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 39 

I know of no more unsatisfactory part of the poultry business than 
doctoring sick chickens. It is seldom a success. To keep them 
well they must be kept warm. It is the first letter of the alphabet 
of successful chicken-raising. I lost heavily at first until I found 
this out. Fifty per cent or more of each hatch would drop out 
with bowel disease until three weeks old, and then many more when 
changing from down to feathers. It was a very discouraging ex- 
perience. I kept altering my brooders and experimenting until of 
my last hatches I lost only 1 or 2 per cent, through sickness. 

"My great mistake had been in not keeping the brooders warm 
enough. I now keep them at 100 degrees day and night for about 
a week until the chicks get a little strength, and then reduce to 95 
degrees and then to 90 degrees. Until little chicks are feathered 
they are but little better than naked, and need a tropical tempera- 
ture to which they can resort when they feel the least chilled. After 
they are 10 days' old they will endure a considerable degree of cold 
if they can run at will into a warm brooder. Any attempt to save 
kerosene by turning down the lamps is disastrous. It doesn't pay to 
save oil at 8 cents a gallon and lose chicks that will at 10 weeks old 
bring 25 to 50 cents a pound. At night the chicks are exposed to 
the greatest risks, and there must be no mistake about the proper 
amount of heat. Too low a temperature at night for only a few 
hours may result in the loss of many chicks. 

"For the first ten days they must not be allowed to get far 
away from the brooder. My brooder house is divided by partitions 
into sections six feet wide. The brooders, one foot higk and three 
feet square, are set against the back wall, one foot from one parti- 
tion and two feet from the other. These spaces are floored over 
level with the top of the brooder, a four-inch board is in front, and 
inch mesh netting, one foot wide, stretched and fastened to that and 
the partitions. The chicks are not allowed to go off this platform 
until ten days old. The first couple of days they are not allowed 
to go more than a foot from the brooder, and then only for a little 
time to eat, drink and exercise, and then they are put back in the 
brooder and kept dark and quiet for a couple of hours to rest and 
take a nap. In fact, they need much the same treatment and care 
the babies do. I take a last look at them before I go to bed. If 
everything is quiet and the chicks lie scattered all over the brooder 
floor, then the heat is just right. If there is a noise of scuffling 
and crowding, and the chicks are hugging the center of the brooder, 
they need more heat at once, or some of them will get under foot and 
be trampled to death, and bowel disease will put in an appearance. 
If they lie with their heads outside the curtains, the brooder is too 
warm, and there is danger of leg weakness. It may be objected 
that all this watching and care takes a great deal of time, and so it 
does; but just such watching and care, day and night, must be 
exercised or else the artificial rearing of chickens will prove a dismal 
and exasperating failure." 

The Poultry Keeper, in taking up the subject, "Why eggs do 
not hatch," gives some very good pointers, as follows : 



40 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

"The principal loss with broilers is in hatching, not that the 
incubators are at fault, but because of the difficulty of getting fertile 
eggs. There may be "more blanks than prizes." When one must 
buy four eggs, each costing three cents, the first cost of producing 
a chick may be more than the whole cost of the food required tc 
carry it to a marketable age. It is on the super-abundance of worth 
less eggs that all the hopes are shattered. The hatching of chick: 
in mid-winter, either by hens or by incubators, is something that 
keeps the operator in doubt until the hatch is over, whether he wilf 
have the egg drawer "alive" with chicks or have to carry out the 
eggs in large baskets to be buried. 

"The reasons for the loss of chicks dying in the shell are too 
numerous to be known, and one of which may be the cause. 
Neither the hen nor the incubator fails to lose chicks in that man- 
ner. The following are some of the causes. Eggs from immature 
pullets, cock too fat, hens too fat, hens beginning to molt, shells of 
eggs too thick, cock with frosted comb, cock inactive, feeding high- 
ly seasoned food, lack of exercise of hens, exposing the eggs just 
when the chicks are coming out, lack of bulky tood for hens, natural 
weakness of parents, inbreeding, lack of vigor in male, inherent 
lack of vitality in chicks, too close and persistent sitting by the hen,, 
thus overheating the eggs ; hens once affected with roup, cockerel 
not matured. The above are only a few causes. If eggs are col- 
lected from all sources (as is often done for incubators) it is an 
utter impossibility to avoid securing eggs that will allow chicks to 
develop, but which cannot get out. To know the exact cause of 
failure, in each case, is too much for any living human being. 

"The majority of failures are not due to the incubators but 
from using eggs from fat hens. If an incubator hatches one egg it 
should hatch all that will hatch. 

"One of the mistakes usually made is in supposing that eggs 
must have moisture ; that is, the eggs must be in the presence gf 
damp earth, or resting on it. The eggs under hens are therefore 
sprinkled, while pans of water are kept in incubators to supply 
moisture. Recent experiments show that during incubation the 
moisture (water) in the eggs is rapidly given off, and near the end 
of a hatch tests show a very large air space at the large end of the 
egg. The chick does not fill this space, but seems packed in the 
egg lower down. When too much moisture is given the chick 
grows more than it should, and becomes too large to remain in the 
egg and not sufficiently developed to come out. The conclusion 
is that no moisture is necessary for incubation unless in extremely 
dry locations, and then not so much with a view of supplying 
moisture as to prevent too much evaporation from the egg. 

"Chicks will die in the shells, however, despite all that can be 
done, as there are so many conditions regulating incubation which 
cannot be all complied with. A chick may inherit weakness from 
its parents, or the eggs used may not be of normal size, or perfect in 
every respect. If a dozen hens are sitting at one time it will be 
found that all are not equally successful in hatching. Some will 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 41 

hatch every egg, while others will bring off but few chicks. Even 
the temperatures of the bodies of the hens vary. An egg is a won- 
derful thing, and no one can predict in advance what it will bring 
forth. 

"Eggs from fat hens usually do not hatch, but frequently th< 
eggs are fertile, and all goes well for about ten days, and then — the> 
die in the shells. 

"It is now known that eggs in incubators (or under hens) re- 
quire no moisture at all, but there must be no dry air currents ovei 
the eggs." 




Plate 6.— CHICK— TWENTY-FIRST DAY INCUBATION 

Mrs. Harry E. Hoak, in Farmer's Guide, says : 

"There seems to be a feeling among farmers that an incubator 
is a very complex machine, and that it takes a great deal of skill to 
handle one, while the truth is there is nothing complex about them, 
and the average farmer's wife who is willing to spend a share of her 
time attending to an incubator may be very successful. Right here 
let me say, don't expect too much, and remember when you read of 
95 per cent hatches, it means that per cent of fertile eggs, not of aP 
the eggs put in the machine. It is always better to be agreeably 
surprised than disappointed. 

"It is better to have your incubator in the cellar, especially if 
the weather is cold, as there is less variation in the temperature 
there than in the upper rooms. In warm weather we have had'ver} 
good success when the machine was placed in a room adjoining th« 
kitchen, and it was less trouble to care for. 

"When the machine comes from the factory, unpack and put 
together according to directions. Then take a spirit level and see 



42 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

that it is level on all four sides. If it is a hot-water machine — that 
is, one having a tank of water above the egg chamber — the tank 
must be filled with hot hater at about 112 degrees. Fill and light 
the lamp and place in position. Place the thermometer on the egg 
tray and close the machine. When the thermometer registers 100 
degrees adjust the regulator and let it run until morning. If in the 
morning it is still running at 100 degrees it is ready for the eggs. 

"And now a word about the eggs : It is far better to have the 
eggs as nearly uniform ae possible, and it is therefore best to have 
them from one breed or cross. They will all hatch at nearly the 
same time. They will be a more uniform lot of chicks. They will 
all mature at the same time. The latter is quite an important item 
if they are to be sold as broilers. 

"To go a little farther back, see to it that the producers of those 
eggs are strong, healthy hens, that they are mated to vigorous males, 
that they are not overfed, but are given a variety of food, and that 
they take the proper amount of exercise. All these details must 
be attended to if we would be successful. The eggs should be gath- 
ered several times a day in cold weather, and placed on racks in 
the cellar where they can be turned every other day. Use no eggs 
having ridges around them or any that are ill-shaped, and use those 
as nearly one size as possible. 

"It has been well said that hatching is only halt the battle, if, 
indeed, it is that. In our estimation the great causes of fatality 
among brooder chicks are lack of exercise and overfeeding. Do 
not crowd 150 chicks into a so-called 200 size brooder, or you will 
be sure to lose them. Fifty will be plenty to put in one brooder. 
When the chicks begin to hatch get your brooders in readiness by 
heating to 95 degrees. You may gradually decrease the heat in 
the brooders from 95 degrees the first week to 90 degrees the 
second week, 85 to 80 degrees the third and fourth weeks, and 80 
to 70 degrees the fifth and sixth weeks, and after that no heat will 
be needed. Be sure your chicks are thoroughly dried before putting 
in the brooder." 

A writer in Wallace's Farmer gives an interesting account of a 
business of supplying incubator eggs. We reproduce it as follows : 

"From November to January there is a demand for incubator 
eggs. The people who make a specialty of broiler raising cannot, 
as a rule, produce all the eggs which they need for the purpose. The 
poultry man who has succeeded in making the fact known that he 
understands how to care for his flock in order to make it produce 
a reasonable per cent of fertile eggs can build up a permanent trade 
in this line which will be exceedingly profitable. He must confine 
himself to a breed however, which is approved by the broiler raisers. 
The Plymouth Rocks and the Wyandottes are good broilers, the lat- 
ter being the preference of the majority of those engaged in the busi- 
ness. Eggs from mixed lots of hens are not in demand for this 
purpose as the product will lack uniformity, and to a greater or less 
extent will be deficient in the broiler-making qualities. As broiler 
raising is not carried on to any large extent except in the neighbor- 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 43 

hood of the large cities of the East, it might be supposed that there 
would be no sale for incubator eggs in the West. This writer lives 
in northwestern Iowa, and we are just finishing out a contract for 
five hundred incubator eggs to go to New York. When that is 
completed we have another to begin on for California. We get five 
dollars a hundred for the eggs delivered to the express office here. 
We look upon it as a good winter business, and propose to put our- 
selves in a position for carrying it on on a larger scale. The New 
York order would be duplicated if we had the facilities for filling it. 
We have the breed which exactly suits this customer and the ship- 
ments which we have sent to him heretofore seem to have been 
very satisfactory. If this were not the case he would not send 
eight hundred miles for our eggs. There must be scores of egg 
farmers in his own neighborhood who keep the same breed that we 
keep. We are not telling what breed we keep, as that would lay 
us open to the suspicion of trying to use the reading columns of 
the Farmer to further our private interests, and, as a matter of fact 
the breed cuts no important figure in the case so long as it is 
confined to the list which is generally endorsed by those in the 
broiler business. The broiler raisers, like the egg farmers, are not 
a unit in their opinions as to which is the best breed for this pur- 
pose. Some of them no doubt would not accept our eggs as a 
present, as they have an established trade with calls for a product 
altogether different. The thing for the egg farmer to do is to find 
out who wants eggs of his kind, and then be so careful and pains- 
taking in filling the orders when he has succeeded in getting them 
that the customer will feel secure in giving him more of them 
every year. You cannot put a business of this kind solidly on its 
feet in one or two seasons, but in the course of time it will be some- 
thing worth striving for if the power behind it knows how to make 
it go." 

The Maine Experiment Station, Oronto, gives some good mat- 
ter in its reports of trials made with artificial methods. Its report 
says: 

"Incubators have been so much improved that there are 
several kinds on the market that we feel sure will hatch as many 
chicks from a given lot of eggs as can be done by selecting broody 
hens.. They require little care, maintain an even temperature, and 
are easily adjusted to meet the increase in temperature arising 
from developments going on in the eggs. In some machines the 
moisture supply is automatic and adapted to the requirements. In 
others it has to be supplied, and skill is necessary in determining 
the quantity needed. The economy of the incubator is very great. 
A 360-egg machine will do the work of nearly thirty broody hens, 
and can be kept at work continually, if desired. 

"We use indoor brooders, mostly, and very much prefer them 
to any outside brooders we have ever seen in use. The portable 
brooder houses are built on runners so that they may be readily 
moved about. The houses are twelve feet long, some of them are 
six and others seven feet wide. Seven feet is the better width. Thev 



44 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

are six feet high in front and four feet high at the back. The frame 
is of 2x3 inch stuff; the floor is double boarded. The building 
is boarded, papered and shingled all over. A door, two feet wide is 
in the center of the front, and a six light, sliding window is on each 
side of it. A small slide is put in the door, near the top, by which 
ventilation may be obtained early in the season, before the windows 
can be kept open. Since shingles on the walls near the bottom 
are liable to be torn off in moving the houses, double boarding on 
the walls would be preferred. Two brooders are placed in each 
of these houses and fifty to sixty chicks are put with each brooder. 
A low partition separates the flocks while they are young, but later 
it has to be made higher. The houses are large enough so that a 
person can go in and do the work comfortably and each one ac- 
commodates one hundred chicks until the cockerels are large 
enough to be removed. 

"In the Fall these houses are grouped together, twenty or 
thirty feet from each other, so as to make the care of the young 
chicks convenient in early Spring, while the brooders are not in use. 
"About the 20th of June, the grass is cut on some field near the 
main poultry or farm buildings, and the brooder houses are drawn 
out, with their contents of chickens, and located fifty to seventy- 
five feet from each other, in line, so that they may be reached with 
little travel. The chickens are shut into small yards, adjoining the 
houses, for about a week, after which they are allowed to run to- 
gether. They mostly keep to their houses, although they wander 
away quite long distances during the day, returning at feed time, 
and at night. 

"When the chicks are thirty to forty hours old they are carried 
in warm covered baskets to the brooders, and fifty or sixty are put 
under each hover, where there temperature is between ninety-five 
and one hundred degrees. The temperature is not allowed to fall 
below ninety-five degrees the first week, or ninety during the second 
week ; then it is gradually reduced according to the temperature 
outside, care being taken not to drive the chicks out by too much 
heat, or to cause them to crowd together under the hover because 
they are cold. They should flatten out separately when young, 
and a little later lie with their heads just at the edge of the hover. 
Under no condition are they allowed to huddle outside of the 
brooder. They huddle because they are cold, and they should be 
put under the hover to get warm, until they learn to do so of their 
own accord. Neither are they allowed to stay under the hover too 
much, but are forced out into the cooler air where they gain 
strength in the day time. They are not allowed to get more than 
a foot from the hover during the first few days ; then a little farther 
away each day, and down onto the house floor about the fourth day. 
if the weather is not too cold, but they must come out from under 
the hover frequently. 

"The floor of the brooder is cleaned every day and kept well 
sprinkled with sharp, fine crushed rock, known in the market as 
'chicken grit.' The floor of the house is covered with clover leaves, 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 45 

or hay or chaff, from the feeding floor in the cattle barns. For raising 
winter chickens the long piped brooder house is indispensable, and 
it has many advantages when used at any season of the year. The 
advantages are especially great when raising chickens if April or 
May prove to be cold and wet, for then the small houses are apt to 
be cold outside of the brooders. 

"The expenditure is greater for the piped house, for the reason 
that colony nouses should be provided in which the chickens may 
be sheltered after they leave the brooder house. In ordinary sea- 
sons we experience no difficulty in raising April and May hatched 
chicks in the small houses. With proper feeding, pullets. hatched 
in these months are early enough to do good work throughout the 
year." 



\6 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Pointers on Feeding, Value of Feed Stuffs, Together With 
Numerous Bills of Fare. 

Chick grit should be about the size of coarse sand. See that 
the chicks have it constantly before them. 

Do not put meat scraps in the mash the first week. 

Hard-boiled eggs and wet cornmeal do more harm than good 
to young chicks. 

Keep the chicks busy. Scatter millet or canary seed among some 
light scratching material. 

Powdered charcoal — a teaspoonful to a quart of feed — should 
be given daily. 

Lettuce, onion tops and lawn clippings, all cut fine, make the 
best green diet. 

Be careful to neither overfeed nor underfeed. 

It is very important to have regular hours for feeding. 

Don't have a feast to-day and a famine to-morrow. 

Give fresh water twice a day during hot weather. 

Be sure to scald the drinking fountains thoroughly once a week 
during hot weather. 

Scatter the grain so that the "bullies" in the flock cannot crowd 
out the more timid ones. 

It is well for all to understand, writes James Rankin, that chicks 
can be forced to a greater weight in a given time, when hatched 
and grown artificially, than can possibly be done under hens. 

J. H. Drevenstedt says the crop of a week-old chick holds less 
than a teaspoonful, and if filled at sunset will be exhausted long be- 
fore sunrise, and hunger for an hour means a day lost in growth. 

"Little and often" is a good rule in feeding. 

According to the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, 
the cost of food, per chick, to weigh one pound, on ground grain, 
is three cents : on whole grain, three and seven-tenth cents. After 
making repeated tests in feeding, the Station concludes: The 
ground grain ration proved considerably more profitable than the 
whole grain ration with the growing chicks. 

Beware of sour food. Always throw away all soft food not 
consumed. 

For chicks, ciover meal is better than clover hay. 

W. R, Curtiss & Co.. Ransom viile, N. Y., believes in feeding 
broilers five times a day in the start, and later three times. 

J. H. Seeley, formerly manager of Ex- Vice President Morton's 
New York broiler plant, says he finds there are less losses among 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 47 

:hicks when fed on dry feed, but he likes a variety — say cracked 
wheat, cracked corn, and cracked oats, or hulled oats. But when 
:t comes to fattening, he prefers scalded feed. 

F. Baus'e, New Berlin, Pa., keeps fine grit and oyster shell on 
the brooder floor. The feed for the first ten days are equal parts 
bread crumbs, bran, rolled oats and millet seed. After ten days 
equal parts cornmeal, bran and sifted oat feed, and five per cent 
meat meal. 

J. E. Stevenson, Columbus, N. J., says, when obtainable, he 
feeds stale baker's bread, moistened in milk, for the first week or 
two. Then he gradually changes to cornmeal, wheat bran, ground 
oats, equal parts, and ten per cent of ground meat, moistened to a 
crumbly mass; with cracked corn, wheat, etc., once or twice a day. 
He begins by feeling every two hours, or even less, and feeds five 
times a day until ready for market. 

William H. Child, Glenside, Pa., says he starts his chicks on 
rolled oats, dry, and when they are a week old gives them a mash 
made of American Poultry Food, clover meal and animal meal. 
He feeds five times a day at first, quantity only such as they will 
clean up promptly, gradually decreasing the number of times he 
feeds as they grow older. He adds powdered charcoal to the mash 
twice a week, and keeps grit and water at hand all the time. 

William H. Jones, Lincoln University, Pa., says the first three 
days stale bread soaked in milk and squeezed dry is kept before 
the chicks. On the fourth day he commences to feed one part each 
of meal, bran, brown middlings, Western ground oats ; thoroughly 
scalded, and given four times a day until two weeks old. Then to 
the above mixture he adds a part each of cut clover hay and meat 
meal, up to eight weeks of age. Then he leaves out the bran, and 
makes it two parts cornmeal, and in place of oats adds cotton seed 
meal until the chicks are ten weeks old. He keeps before them 
charcoal and grit. 

George G. Harley, Hammonton, N. J., one of the most prac- 
tical broiler experts in the country, says the first day he gives noth- 
ing but wheat bran to peck at. The next day he feeds rolled oats, 
and continues to feed it until the chicks are ten days old, keeping 
dry bran, charcoal and fine oyster shell by them all the time. He 
feeds every two hours, just what they will eat up clean. Aften ten 
days he feeds a moist mash in the morning and evening, composed 
of cornmeal, middlings, bran and ground oats, with meat scraps in 
proportion to the age of the chicks. At noon he feeds wheat or 
cracked corn, and keeps green stuff by them, so they can eat all they 
want, until the last two weeks. Then they are fed all the celery they 
can eat. Mr. Harley was the originator of celery-fed broilers 
which had such a big sale in Washington, D. C, some years ago. 

Henry Nicolai, Hammonton, N. J., one of the pioneer broiler 
raisers of this country, fed dry cornmeal for the first three or four 
days. Then he dampened a very little of it and added some well- 
cooked potatoes chopped up very fine. After two or three weeks 
he gave scalded feed — cornmeal (plenty of it), a little bran, second 



4 8 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

grade flour or middlings, and a little ground meat. For the first 
week or ten days he fed five times a day ; after that, three times. 

In an experiment conducted at the Purdue (Indiana) Station 
chickens fed milk and grain made an average weekly gain 
of 4.46 ounces, while those receiving no milk gained but 2.62 ounces 
per week. The growth of the milk-fed chickens was more uniform 
as well as more rapid. The general result seemed to show the bene- 
ficial effect in every way of the skim-milk. 

It is not possible for all to give their chicks unlimited range, 
says Ohio Poultry Journal, and in such cases the feeder will have 
to make up the deficiency by feeding bone-forming elements. The 
best of these is green cut bone. 

William C. King, Hopkinton, Mass., says he feeds no meat food 
to baby chicks until they are four weeks old. After that about ten 
per cent of the mash food is composed of meat in some form as 
long as he keeps the bird. He has found that an over-supply of 
meat fed to stock in confinement is apt to cause a watery discharge 
from the bowels, but birds on free range can stand nearly any 
amount. 

Geo. Hall, East Islip, N. Y., says in feeding green cut bone, 
about a half ounce can be allowed for half-grown chicks, but little 
ones should not have over an eighth of an ounce each. 

When the chicks have good appetites, but weak legs, the 
chicks moving about on their knees, it denotes too rapid growth. A 
teaspoonful of citrate of iron and ammonia (a solid) in each quart 
of drinking water, is recommended. 

Dr. G. M. Twitchell, before the Massachusetts State Board of 
Agriculture, said: 

"In no place is skimmed milk more valuable than in growing 
chicks. In my own experience I found the best ration for market 
poultry to be thirty per cent of oats and wheat, twenty of corn and 
ten of linseed all ground together and ten of meat scraps added. 
This mixed into a dough with skimmed-milk I would bake until 
thoroughly cooked, set away for a day or more and then pound fine 
and feed. In this combination I consider linseed one of the most 
valuable parts, it is rich albuminous food and hence valuable in 
forcing growth. If these chicks were intended to furnish future 
layers I would change the ration to meet the changed condition. 
No matter how choice the stock, how careful the breeding, how 
well balanced the ration, unless regularity be observed in feeding it 
is utterly useless to expect to succeed. Hunger must be appeased 
at once, or the system draws upon its own stores for nourishment. 
If regular hours are observed nature adapts the animal to the con- 
dition. Green food must be supplied liberally, and for want of this 
many broods are lost. A good plan is to sow oats or rape-seed in 
boxes, and cut when two or three inches high, chopping fine and 
feeding freely." 

Frank Y. Hopping, tells in the Germantown Telegraph, how 
he feeds chicks to get big broilers for the early market. He says : "I 
have found the following method of feeding chicks for broilers the 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 49 

best: The first week I give cracked wheat, then after that I give 
a mixture of ground oats and corn, equal parts, about a fourth part 
of middlings, and a handful of ground meat. The whole mixture 
is scalded several hours before feeding, and then fed only moist. 
Also chopped up cabbage, boiled or raw potatoes and other vegeta- 
bles, feeding either separate or in with the mash. Whole wheat 
or cracked corn is also fed between meals. The mash is fed morning 
noon and night, and the same continued until ready for market, the 
supply of meat, however, being gradually increased the older they 
become. Coal ashes, charcoal and ground oyster shells are con- 
stantly within reach." 

JVL Sumner Perkins, in Farm Journal, says : 

"For twenty-four hours the chick needs no food whatever, and 
is better off without it. For the first two or three weeks, a mixture 
of hard boiled eggs and bread crumbs, moistened in sweet milk is as 
good as anything. Eggs are first-class food, if not fed too plentifully, 
in which case they are very liable to produce diarrhoea. Oatmeal 
is another very nutritious food, and it may be either boiled to the 
consistency of a stiff pudding, or it may be mixed with other grain 
and baked into a cake. Waste bread from hotels can be purchased 
cheaply. This contains beside common wheat bread, a species of 
corn cake that forms splendid chicken food. Corn cake can easily 
be made by anyone by mixing a little shorts with corn meal, prepar- 
ing and baking the same as in the case of ordinary family bread. 
Milk in all its forms, is much relished by all classes of poultry. 
Chickens when allowed plenty of the same, can well-nigh be seen 
to grow. The bones and frame-work under such a diet develope 
rapidly and perfectly. As the chicken grows older, cracked corn, 
oats, wheat, barley and buckwheat, can all be used with profit. The 
greater the variety in the food and manner of feeding, the better 
it is. 

"Animal food must always be supplied, a little at first, the 
quantity to" increase with age of the chicks. Beef trimmings, livers, 
hearts, etc., of sheep and cattle, when boiled and finely chopped will 
fill the bill. If the prepared beef scrap of commerce be relied upon, 
care should be exercised to buy one the best grade. A greasy, 
mouldy article is in no wise suitable for chickens, and disease will 
surely follow the use of such. The tender heart of a cabbage, clover 
cured when in full bloom, steamed and finely chopped, potatoes and 
other roots, will supply acceptable vegetable food. 

"Coarse sand, bits of charcoal, cracked oyster shells and 
broken bones, should always be in reach as each of these substances 
has its own use. 

"To sum this whole matter of winter chicken-raising up in a 
nut-shell, select vigorous, breeding stock, incubate only large per- 
fect eggs from the same, place the chicks soon after hatched in a 
good brooder, comfortably warmed, feed well upon a variety of 
nourishing and natural food, keep all appurtenances scrupulously 
clean, and the chickens will take care of themselves. It must be 
borne in mind that the chick in winter is wholly dependent upon the 



5<3 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

attentions of the attendant for everything it receives, so that no de- 
tail of proper management must be omitted." 

R. W. Davison, in Agricultural Epitomist, says : 

"Some people claim that it is easier to hatch chickens than it is 
to raise them. No doubt that in such cases the brooder or way of 
managing is to blame. It must be remembered that the chicks come 
from the incubator where the temperature is anywhere from ioc 
to 105 degrees, (the heat ought to be run down to 90 or 95 degrees 
after all the chicks are out of the shell) so that it will not be advis- 
able to put them in a cold brooder or cold room. For the first ten 
days, not longer, the brooder ought to stand in a warm room or 
where the outside temperature does not fall below 65 degrees. 
This will prevent the little fellows getting chilled if they should stay 
outside of the brooder too long. If the outdoor brooder is used 
then they can be confined to it for the ten days if not too crowded ; 
thus the warm room will not be so necessary. To prevent the chicks 
from wandering away from the brooders too far at first stand up 
five inch wide boards forming a little pen along the front of the 
brooder. When the chicks get large enough to jump over they can 
be removed. 

"While the food is a very important consideration with brooder 
chicks, the manner of giving it is just as important. Now the ques- 
tion of exercise should not be overlooked. These little fellows 
should be taught to exercise when a week old. Each little pen 
should have litter in it. If it can be had there is nothing better 
than clover hay chaff — the leaves, heads and seeds that shake off in 
handling the hay. Next to clover chaff comes cut straw, cut in half- 
inch lengths. Do not have the litter too thick on the floor at first, 
say half an inch deep, but as the chicks grow increase the depth. 
Induce scratching by scattering a little cracked wheat or millet seed 
in the chaff. This exercise will keep the body healthy and prevent 
leg weakness. It must be remembered that brooder chicks do not 
have all outdoors to run in, neither do they have a mother to teach 
them this 'fine art.' " 

Arthur G. Duston, of Marlboro, Mass., has been very success- 
ful in growing broilers. He advises that care must be taken not to 
get the chicks chilled in transferring from the incubator to the 
^brooder. 

For the first week, warmth is considered more essential than 
food. 

At the close of their first day in the brooder they are given a 
feed of rolled oats. Next morning they get more rolled oats with a 
dish of warm milk to drink. The milk is fed from a can fountain, 
made from an old fruit can notched at the lower edge, which is filled 
and inverted on an old saucer not much larger than the can. Some 
chicks that will not eat, will take to skim milk, and it gives all a fine 
start. Powdered charcoal is kept near them as a regulator. The 
young chicks are fed every two hours. The first week they ger 
rolled oats, millet seed and corn cracked very fine. Skim- 
milk is kept before them all the time and the milk dishes washed 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



Si 




Plate 7— WII,L,IAM E. KICE, Pigeon Expert. 



52 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

twice a day. Mr. Duston finds it pays well to feed skim milk. He 
is able to buy it at 5 cents for 8J quarts. The sand floor of the 
brooder is kept clean. 

The second week the feed is about the same, except that they 
are fed a little dough, one-third cornmeal, two-thirds bran sea- 
soned with a little salt and pepper and mixed with boiling water. 
This mash is made semi-dry, not sloppy. The soft food and grains 
are fed alternately. The third week, they get a change in the shape 
of cracked wheat alternating with the other grains. The chicks are 
allowed to run on the ground outside when they are a week old, and 
after the second week they go out every day unless it is stormy. 
When outdoors during the cold weather they are made to exercise 
by driving them around, or by feeding them a handful of millet seed. 

The program of the third week is continued for four weeks 
as follows : Early in the morning a feed of hard grain, then a feed 
of chopped, raw potatoes made by pulping them in a meat chopper. 
A little later is given a feed of raw cabbage cut in strips. At nine 
o'clock a feed of scalded mash as previously described. This is fed 
on tin plates 14 in. in diameter and f in. deep. These are cleaned 
by a small shovel before another feed. The leavings are not fed 
again but go into the swill tubs for the pigs. Two hours later an- 
other feed of mash is given and again at one o'clock and at three 
o'clock. There are plates enough so that all the chickens have their 
chance. The dish is taken away before the chickens have eaten quite 
all they would like. The last feed at five o'clock, or just before 
dark, is fine cracked corn. 

When this program has been continued four weeks, the chick- 
ens are six weeks old, and they must be finished off in ten days or 
two weeks to weigh two pounds and to show good color and ap- 
pearance. To get the most color and flesh in the least time the corn 
meal and bran mash previously described is thickened by adding 
all cottonseed meal that can be stirred in, also adding a little cheap 
molasses. This feed will give a fine yellow skin, but if continued 
more than two weeks the chickens will get "off their feed " and 
lose flesh and health. 

This ration should only be given to finish them for market. 
The chickens are made to eat all of it they possibly can and not 
lose their appetite. For making roasters the regular feed is con- 
tinued up to the last two weeks. This high feeding method is not 
considered desirable for raising breeding stock, but only for 
chickens for market. 

In 1892 we gave our experience in Farm-Poultry, Boston, 
Massachusetts, from which we make the following extracts : 

An incubator may hatch ever so well, and a brooder do the 
finest kind of hovering, yet if the chicks are not properly fed, there 
certainly cannot be any kind of success. Good feeding tells. There 
is no fixed bill of fare, and in taking up this subject, we can only 
give our own experience, and what we have observed on other farms 
in Hammonton. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 53 

As is well known the chick comes from the shell without the 
least bit of appetite. Scientists say that nature has given it the 
power to absorb the contents of the yolk prior to its coming out oi 
the shell, consequently it is not necessary to give any food for at 
least twenty-four hours. Some writers say thirty-six hours after. 
hatching is early enough for the first feed, but we always dish up 
the first meal after they are a day and a night old. After we hatch 
out the chicks we put them in a nursery where we keep them for 
the first ten days or two weeks. After that they are removed to the 
regular brooding-house. Upon the floor of this nursery we cover 
about a half inch of bran, so that when the chick is ready to eat, 
it will find some food right before it. Then, in a little trough we 
place rolled oats, or pin-head oatmeal, and subsequently begin, say 
about a week afterwards, a mash feed. We might as well here add 
that we also give stale bread-crumbs to alterate with the rolled 
oats, until they have their stomachs more fortified for heavier food. 
Some of the broiler men in this town grind up, or finely crack, whole 
wheat, which they feed instead of the rolled oats. We like both 
methods, but think more favorably of the oats diet. We also give 
boiled milk as a diet. 

(Some writers think that for the first few days it is best not to 
give any water. We differ. Deprive the youngsters of something 
to drink and they will fairly gorge themselves when allowed to get 
to the water. We do not, however, start with water ; we boil milk, 
and give that instead. 

There used to be an opinion that hard-boiled eggs was the best 
food to start with, but we think that too much reliance had been 
placed upon that diet. It has been proved beyond a doubt that an 
excessive use of hard-boiled eggs will produce bowel troubles. 
There can be no harm in a judicious use of them, but we have found 
more virtue in saturating bread-crumbs with a fresh egg. 

Two parts of bran, and one part of corn meal, scalded several 
hours before using, is an excellent food after the chicks are a week 
old. But two parts bran, and one part each of corn meal and ground 
wheat is better. A little of meat scraps — say a handful to a pail of 
the above mixture — should also be added. 

After two weeks of age, cracked wheat and cracked corn makes 
a substantial meal. From the start, grit of some kind must be 
within reach. Some use fine flint ; some finely cracked oyster shells ; 
and some fine gravel. It matters not what kind is used. Powdered 
charcoal should also be kept in a little box in the pen so the chicks 
can help themselves. 

Green food, as chopped up onion tops, or cabbage leaves, are 
very beneficial. Lettuce can be raised early in the season in hot- 
beds, and a better and more tender plant cannot be found. Where 
greens are scarce, roast potatoes, cut into halves, furnish a grand 
substitute ; and even when greens are fed, it gives an extra treat. 

Corn meal, in some form or other, is the "staff" upon which to 
grow good broilers. It can be used in regular johnny cakes, or 
what is known as southern corn bread. 



54 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

We might add, also, that we never give milk to the chicks 
until it is boiled. There is less likelihood of having any evil effects 
from it. We have known of bad cases of bowel troubles coming 
from feeding fresh milk. 

George W. Pressey, of Hammonton, who, with the assistance 
of his two daughters, raised and marketed nearly 5,000 chicks in a 
(single season, used this plan of feeding: 

When the chickens are twenty-four hours old, feed them with 
baked corn cake made as follows : Three quarts corn meal, one 
quart wheat middlings, one quart of meat meal. Mix quite stiff with 
water or skimmed milk, in which have been mixed four tablespoon- 
fuls of vinegar, and two teaspoonfuls of soda. Bake, and when 
cold, crumble fine and feed for the first week all they will eat, or 
during the time they are kept in a warm room, which must never be 
over ten days, or they will sicken and die for want of pure outdoor 
air. For the first week they should be fed once a day with mashed 
potatoes, given plenty of water to drink and plenty of coarse sand. 
The food for outdoors is two parts corn, one part wheat, and one part 
oats, ground together quite fine. To each ten quart pailful of this 
mixture add one quart of wheat bran, half a cup of pulverized bone 
meal, one pint of middlings, and a pint of meat meal. Mix rather 
dry with hot water, and leave for two hours before feeding, to give 
it a chance to swell. With this food, he also, once a week, gives 
a half teaspoonful of salt, and in cold weather a quarter teaspoonful 
of red pepper; and once or twice a week he adds a spoonful of sul- 
phur; and about as often, mixes in the drinking water for the day, 
a spoonful of Douglas Mixture to every one hundred chickens. Pow- 
dered charcoal is kept before them all the time. 

At first it is best to feed the chicks every two hours, all they will 
eat up clean. After about two or three weeks old they can be con- 
fined to three meals a day. The first feed of the day should be given 
at daybreak, and the last feed a little before they are ready to creep 
in their brooders for the night. 

Great care must be taken in the preparation of the food. It must 
not be sloppy, neither hot. It should be just moist enough so as to 
be easily crumbled, and warm. 

Food must be given in troughs. If thrown upon the floor it 
will be trodden under foot and wasted. 

It must not be forgotten that the methods of feeding herein 
given are for broilers alone. In raising birds for breeding purposes, 
more attention must be paid to growth of bone and muscle than fat. 

With regularity in feeding, and a regular warmth in the 
brooders, two-thirds of the troubles in raising chicks can be avoided. 
As brooder-raised birds are free from lice, and are never troubled 
with gapes, it shows that if there is a failure in the method, it must 
be though the instrumentality of the man. As we have said before, 
good brooders and good food are everything. It is much easier to 
hatch the eggs than raise the chicks. 

For several years we have given a test of F. P. C. Chick Mannr^ 
as the exclusive food for young chicks up to ten days of age. We 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 55 

have found it excellent, it being a regular "Mellin's Food" for them, 
just what this Chick Manna contains we do not know, but we do 
know that by its use we have had stronger chicks, quicker growth, 
and less loss than by anything else that we ever fed. This is a 
rather strong testimonial, and it is given without the knowledge of 
the manufacturer, but we deem it our duty to speak of a meritorious 
article when we find one. 

In an experiment made last year with Spratts Patent Poultry 
VIeal, we also had excellent results. The article in particular that 
we used was Spratt's Chick Meal, No. 5, which is a cooked food 
manufactured by Spratt's Patent for the special purpose of rearing 
young chicks from the egg to maturity, but in the broiler business 
ts use is recommended for a few days or say until the end of the 
third week, after which its use may be gradually discontinued, but 
this is only on account of the expense. 

In a personal letter to the writer, T. Farrer Rackham, East 
Orange, N. J., says : 

"It is all very well for the mixed grain advocates to claim that a 
young chick does not want cooked food, but twenty years of prac- 
tical experience has proved to me that you can rear a heavier per- 
centage of better and bigger chicks if they are started on a cooked 
food, than you can under any other circumstances, and if there is 
any living man that doesn't believe it, I am willing to enter into a 
contest with him, and can back my opinion pretty heavily before I 
stop. Of course, I feed grains alternating the feeds: Spratt's at 
one feed and the grain at the next. 

"The man who mixes together a certain number of dried grains 
olaims that these are the foods and that they do better on them. 
This is all buncombe. There is just enough truth in it to bear out 
the old adage : 'little knowledge is a dangerous thing.' 

"Young chicks in their wild and natural condition do not eat 
cooked foods, but then they are not hatcfced during the months of 
October and March, and they are hatched at a time when the sur- 
roundings are full of things that can only be imitated by cooked 
foods." 

Some interesting data on the subject of feeding chicks, is also 
^iven in the report of the Maine Experiment Station, as follows : 

"For feed for young chicks we make bread by mixing three parts 
cornmeal, one part wheat bran, and one part wheat middlings or 
flour, with skim milk or water, mixing it very dry, and salting as 
usual for bread. It is baked thoroughly, and when well done, if it 
is dry enough so as to crumble, it is broken up and dried out in the 
oven, and then ground in a mortar or mill. The infertile eggs are 
hard boiled and ground, shell and all, in a sausage mill. About one 
part of ground egg and four parts of the bread crumbs are rubbed 
together until the egg is well divided. This bread makes up about 
one-half of the food of the chicks until they are five or six weeks old. 
Eggs are always used with it for the first one or two weeks, and 
then fine sifted beef scrap is mixed with the bread. 



56 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

"It may be that the bread is not necessary and that something 
else is just as good. We have tried many other foods, including 
several of the most highly advertised prepared dry chicken foods, 
but as yet have found nothing that gives us as good health and 
growth as the bread fed in connection with dry broken grains. 

"When the chicks are first brought to the brooders bread 
crumbs are sprinkled on the floor of the brooder, among fine grit, and 
in this way they learn to eat, taking in grit and food at the same 
time. After the first day the food is given in tin plates, four to each 
brooder. The plates have low edges, and the chicks go onto them 
and find the food readily. After they have had the food before them 
the first one or two weeks, the plates are removed. As they have 
not spilled much of it, they have little left to lunch on except what 
they scratch for. In the course of a few days light wooden troughs 
are substituted for the plates. The bottom of the trough is a strip 
of half inch board, two feet long and three inches wide. Laths are 
nailed around the edges. The birds are fed four times a day in these 
troughs until they outgrow them, as follows: Bread and egg or 
scrap early in the morning ; at half past nine o'clock dry grain, either 
pin head oats, crushed wheat, millet seed or cracked corn. At one 
o'clock dry grain again, and the last feed of the day is of the bread 
with egg or scrap. 

"Between the four feeds in the pans or troughs, millet seed, pin 
head oats and fine cracked corn, and later whole wheat, are scat- 
tered in the chaff on the floor for the chicks to scratch for. This 
makes them exercise, and care is taken that they do not find the 
food too easily. 

"One condition is made imperative in our feeding. The food is 
never to remain in the troughs more than five minutes before the 
troughs are cleaned or removed. This insures sharp appetites at 
meal time, and guards against inactivity which comes from over- 
feeding. 

"Charcoal, granulated bone, oyster shell and sharp grit are 
always kept by them, as well as clean water. Mangolds are cut into 
slices, which they soon learn to peck. When the grass begins to 
grow they are able to get green food from the yards. If the small 
yards are worn out before they are moved to the range, green cut 
clover or rape is fed to them. 

"After the chickens are moved to the range they are fed in the 
same manner, except that the morning and evening feed is made of 
• corn meal, middlings and wheat bran, to which one-tenth as much 
beef scrap is added. The other two feeds are of wheat and cracked 
corn. One year we fed double the amount of scrap all through the 
growing season and had the April and May pullets well developed 
and laying through September and October. To our sorrow they 
neatly all molted in December, and that month and January were 
nearly bare of eggs." 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 57 



CHAPTER VII. 

Drooping Wings in Chicks — Roofing the Brooder Houses — Bowel 
Troubles in Young Chicks — Dressing for Market — Raising Stock 
Birds. 

Complaint is time and again received that the wings of some 
of the chicks being grown for broilers grow too fast, causing the 
birds to droop and die. We wrote to a number of poultrymen on 
the subject and secured the following replies: 

F. Bause, New Berlin, Pa.; "I pull the large wing feathers as 
soon as the chicks droop." 

Aug. D. Arnold, Dillsburg, Pa. : "I find the use of sweet milk 
the best preventative for drooping wings in chicks. Give milk in- 
stead of water to drink." 

Whiting Farm, Holyoke, Mass. : "We do not consider it neces- 
sary to clip the wings, as the chickens will do fully better without 
this. Where such a course is necessary, the food ration is usually 
at fault, or other conditions." 

W. Theo. Wittman, Allentown, Pa. : "Most people believe that 
it is the wing feathers that grow too fast, or are abnormally de- 
veloped. This is not it ; the chick has not grown fast enough. Hence, 
anything that stunts the growth helps to develope this wing 
trouble, and in most cases it is a matter of the wrong kind of feed. 
Chicks from eggs laid by inbred or closely confined stock are apt 
to come that way." 

W. W. Kulp, Pottstown, Pa.: "I cut (never pull) the wing 
feathers and tail. I cut them before they droop, as it is easier to 
prevent than cure. If you pull them you might injure the socket 
where the feather grows. A new feather will grow in the socket, 
but it will generally be without color. Nature seems to say it is 
hard work to grow a feather after such treatment, without putting 
it in color." 

C. E. Howell, Elmira, N. Y.: "We make it a practice to clip 
off the ends of the flight feathers on all chicks when they are about 
ten days old, and think it is a great help in a general way, for it 
retards the growth of the wings. However, if the wings grow faster 
than the remainder of the chick, there is always a cause. The three 
principal causes of the trouble are, ist,their feed; 2d, improper heat 
or exposure; 3d, lack of exercise. With a close watch on these 
essential points, very little trouble will be found with the chick's 
wings." 



58 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

George H. Northup, Raceville, N. Y. : "Feed often and regu- 
larly on nourishing food, not more than the chicks will eat readily. 
Accustom them "to a variety of foods as early as possible. When 
chicks get weak I have found clear cornmeal, moistened with raw 
egg (just enough egg to make it crumbly) excellent to revive them, 
but think it would not be good for a steady food. I do not have 
any trouble with chicks getting weak if they are well fed, regularly. 
They grow rapidly, but are so hardy that they do not weaken. I 
think that when the wings of chicks outgrow some other parts of 
the body, it indicates a state of partial starvation. Small chicks need 
more carbonaceous food to keep up warmth and vitality, than mature 
fowls, proportionally. Therefore, one need not feed sparingly of 
cornmeal or cracked corn, but as I said before a mixed diet is 
needed." 

An anonymous writer makes a number of good points, as fol- 
lows : "Is it the rapid growth of the wing feathers which cause the 
chick to droop? Is it not that the body fails to develop as it should? 
Don't you think there is something wrong in the management that 
produces such forlorn specimens of chickhood? Some people clip 
their wings. Why. I cannot imagine. If they are too heavy for 
their owners to carry around in their normal position, the best plan 
in my opinion is to dispose of the chickens; they won't amount to 
much if they do live to maturity. Compare that chick whose wings 
hang loosely at its side, with one who carries them folded close to 
its body Take them in your hands, notice the difference in the 
weight, feel how sharp and boney is the breast of one, and how 
plump the other. Look at their legs — it will take both of the one 
to equal in size the strong, thick shank of the other. How weak 
the bird is; it scarcely moves when you grasp it. And the other: 
Why you can feel every muscle struggling in your hands. It is 
full of life and strength. Give them their liberty : The droopy one 
goes a little way and stands exhausted. Those dreadful wings seem 
to bear him down to the ground. The other chick darts from your 
hands the moment you relax your hold, and flies from the restraint 
which was so hateful to his vigorous little body. Don't you think 
it would be cruel to prolong the existence of a chick so puny that it 
cannot sustain the weight of its own feathers? It certainly will not 
pay to raise it." 

W. A. Penfield, Waterville, N. Y. : "Prevent by proper ration 
of animal food." 

M. A. Summers, Lewisburg, Ky. : "When wing feathers grow 
too fast I trim them with a pair of scissors." 

W. H. Card, Bristol, Conn. : "I out-breed, and have no trouble 
that way." 

J. A. Ainge, Dover, N. J. : "When three weeks old I cut off the 
wing feathers and find it successful." 

B. A. R. Stocker, Wyoma, W. Va. : "Trim off the long feathers ; 
give bone meal." 

C. A. Young, Prescott, Wis. : "It has seemed to me that this 
condition occurs most frequently, if not altogether, with those chicks 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 59 

that seem below par in vitality when hatched. All the chicks I have 
this season were incubator-hatched, and the earlier ones have done 
much better in this respect. The last hatching appeared deficient 
in vitality, did not grow well, while many of them developed this 
wing peculiarity and soon died." 

W. J. Gordon, Pickering, Ont., Canada: "Drooping of wings 
is not caused by overgrowth, but by improper treatment, such as 
crowding at night, small range, poor feeding and lice." 



There being a difference of opinions regarding the best roofing 
for a brooder house, we directed inquiries to a number of poultry- 
men, with the following result : 

Henry Nicolai, Hammonton, N. J. : "My experience has taught 
me that shingles are the cheapest and best in the end. They will 
last many years longer by giving the roof a coat of paint costing 
about one dollar per gallon, and using No. 3, 18-inch cedar 
shingles. One thousand shingles will cover about 145 square feet ; 
one gallon of paint will cover 250 square feet." 

C. E. Howell, Elmira, N. Y. : "I consider shingles the best 
roofing, but do not use them unless the house can be ceiled over- 
head with matched lumber. This makes a warm, dry covering, and 
shuts off the overhead draughts. The cheapest roof I have is build- 
ing paper well covered with tar and gravel, but it needs renewal of 
the tar quite often." 

George G. Harley, Hammonton, N. J.: "My experience with 
roofing is that either cedar or cypress shingles is the best for either 
a brooding or a poultry house. The Red Rope Neponset paper, 
nowever, is a very good substitute if it is put on right. It should 
have one-third lap and painted before the strips are put on. I use 
I in. half round strips, and place them two feet apart on top of 
the Neponset after it is painted. If the strips are put on before 
painting, the paper will rot under the strips. But I prefer shingles 
to any substitute." 

J. E. Stevenson, Columbus, N. J. : "The best is probably cedar 
shingles, and they may be really the cheapest in the end. The 
cheapest and best for a cheap roof, that I have found after several 
years' experience with the different roofing felts, is ordinary burlap. 
Tack it on the roof smoothly, and coat well with tar and sand. This 
will be found much more satisfactory than the majority of felt roofs, 
as it does not crack nor blow off, and if kept well tarred and sanded 
will last for years. Old bags will answer the purpose providing 
they have no holes in them, or the holes are patched, though new 
burlap would be less work to put on smoothly and can be bought 
cheaply." 

Ezra Cornell, Ithaca, N. Y. : "I suppose that there are some 
kind of roofing papers that are cheap and will last for some time, 
but I have never considered them. My houses are all shingled and 
are perfectly satisfactory. They are waterproof, and at the same 
time sufficiently open to allow all gases to escape. With the shin- 
gle roof I do not consider a roof ventilator necessary. Besides these 



60 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

qualities a good shingle roof will last for years, is cooler than almost 
any other roof in summer, and sufficiently tight in winter, as the 
shingles shrink in hot, dry weather, making the roof open or porous, 
and swell in damp, cooler weather, making it tight. On the whole, 
I think it cannot be beaten." 

F. Bause, New Berlin, Pa. : "The cheapest roof I have is the 
heaviest quality tar paper on rough boards, coated with a good, coal 
tar cement." 

William H. Child, Glenside, Pa. : "I have never used anything 
but ordinary black roofing felt. It has always answered satisfac- 
torily, and I should use it again. When it gets worn, I put a new 
lot right over the old." 

W. Theo. Wittman, Allentown, Pa. : "The best and cheapest 
roofing for a poultry house is tar or roofing paper well painted 
with hot tar, and annually painted late in autumn. This makes 
the roof at its best when most needed. If the tar is applied in 
spring or summer, the sun will rapidly evaporate it and make the 
roof thin. With such a roof the roosting room (of the hen house) 
only needs to be ceiled with matched lumber (as should also be 
the brooding house) leaving an air-space, as one-inch boards 
covered with paper in zero weather makes the roof cold, and chills 
the whole house." 

W. M. Rand, Franklin, Ind. : "I don't consider there is any good 
whatever in cheapness of any kind in the chicken or any other busi- 
ness. Cheapness in the start means unnecessary expense in the end. 
I built a brooder house on the cheap plan to start with. It proved 
a failure, and since then have built it all over. This is where the 
unnecessary expense comes in. If built right at first, there would 
have been no unnecessary expense of re-building. I first built my 
house with three-inch battens, three inches apart, with shingles on 
top for a roof. The consequence was, when the wind blew strong, 
there was no such thing as keeping up heat. A roof that will slied 
rain won't keep out wind unless properly built. It is just as essen- 
tial to keep out wind in a brooder or chicken house as to keep out 
rain. My house has a hip roof, and two years ago I put tarred 
paper on the north side and it kept out both wind and. rain. My 
plan is : Put on good sheeting and cover with three-ply tarred 
roofing, and paint once or twice a year, and you will have the best 
roof in existence. With us the cost of 3-inch batten, per square is 
75c, and good shingles $2.50 per square. Cost of putting on shin- 
gles are about $1 per square ; total, $4.25. Three-ply tarred paper, 
per square, costs $1.50, good sheeting, $1.50. Putting on sheeting 
paper and painting, $1.00; total, $4.00 per square." 

Charles A. French, Sandypoint, Me. : "Cedar shingles and 
sheathing paper." 

Another correspondent : "Shingles over sheathing paper. No 
tearing off or tar running off in hot weather. Such a roof is about 
the cheapest in the end, as it requires no further, attention for a 
number of years." 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



61 




62 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

A Canadian correspondent: "In my experience there is nothing 
that will beat the gravel roof for our climate (Canada.) If it is welL 
put on at first, it will last longer and be warmer than any other roof- 
But it should always slant to the North, and no more than a half- 
inch fall to the front. I make mine three-eighths and find it about 
right. Of course it will be warmer in Summer, but I leave the doors 
and windows out , and that leaves it sufficiently cool at night, using - 
wire screans to keep out vermin." 

Emory E. Banks, Crittenden, N. Y. : "Prefer two thicknesses 
of hemlock boards, with lining paper between and batten or ship- 
Ian lumber on the outside. Next preference is Neponset roofing 
with Neponset lining on under side, and kept painted or tarred." 

William Barry, Park Ridge, N. J. : "I prefer a tin roof. I tried 
the Neponset, but a heavy hail storm cut it badly." 

E. H. Williams, Coldwater, Mich. : "I use Neponset Red Rope 
and find it very satisfactory and cheap." 

W. M. Shaw, Swissdale, Pa. : "The best roofing for poultry 
houses is composed, first, of either rough or dressed pine boards,, 
beaded, or mortised, same as flooring boards, forced close together, 
and on top of this place one layer of No. 2 or 3 felt roofing, heavily 
tarred once every year or two. This is a roof for warmth in W T inter 
and cool in Summer." 

. W. W. Kulp, Pottstown, Pa.: "I use mostly Neponset. It 
makes a good roof, and lasts about 20 years. Felt roofing I would, 
use, but it costs too much trouble ; always leaking. Tin is fine but 
costly." 

C. E. White, Fox Chase, Pa. : "I use nothing but Swan's 
Standard Roofing, and find it very satisfactory. Before building 
my house I visited many prominent poultry farms in Massachusetts 
and New York state, to pick up whatever points I could that would 
be of value, and this was one of the most valuable ones. I saw at 
James Rankin's farm roofing of this kind that had been in use for 
12 or 13 years." 

By the Editor : We are using Paroid roofing, manufactured by 
F. W. Bird & Son, East Walpole, Mass., and find it strictly first- 
class. 

Geo. H. Northrup, Raceville, N. Y. : "I find that a slate roof 
gives the best satisfaction of all. It costs more at the start, but 
when once put on will last as long as the building stands. I know 
of slate roofs which have been on as long as 50 years, and are as 
good now as when first laid." 



Bowel troubles have been the cause of considerable loss among 
brooder chicks. The following symposium contains good advice on 
the subject : 

William E. Anderson, Belvidere, N. J.: "I use the following 
prescription furnished me by Dr. P. T. Woods : Mix a little red 
oxide of iron (Venetian red) in drinking water for a few days." 

P. F. Daniel, Atlanta. Ga. : "Locate the cause (for there is a 
cause) and avoid it. Feed a well balanced ration. My experience 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 63 

is that the bowels will regulate themselves unless the chicks have 
been severely chilled." 

Emory E. Banks, Crittenden, N. J. : "My remedy for diarrhoea 
in brooder chicks is to feed more hard boiled eggs, scalded milk, 
wheat, germ, etc., dropping animal meal and feeding less or no corn- 
meal, green food, etc., as the case may be. When costive I reverse 
the order. I have had more trouble with the latter than the 
former." 

A. De R. Meares, Hyattsville, Md. : "Bran before the little 
chicks all the time." 

J. W. McCarty, Windsor, Vt. : "Boiled milk and more dried 
food than generally fed." 

W. J. Gordon, Pickering, Ont. : "Proper heat — not too hot nor 
too cold. Put horse chestnuts in the drinking water, and see that 
the water is kept cool and fresh. Feed dry rolled oats, dry bran, 
hard boiled eggs and plenty of grit and green food. Have a big 
run." 

H. S. Thompson, Stratford, Conn. : "Have plenty of heat for 
the first week. Avoid crowding — and kill the cripples and weak- 
lings that start the crowding. Tincture of asafoetida in the drink- 
ing water is good." 

Matt. G. Robson, Port Leyden, N. Y. : "My wife gives the 
chicks a little black pepper in milk, but one must be careful that 
too much is not given, as it may injure the liver. Never had any 
trouble that way, as I watch the chicks closely and change feed if 
I notice anything wrong." 

Irving C. Hutchins, Rochester, N. Y. : "Have had but little 
trouble with bowel difficulty in young brooder chicks. The best 
preventative that I know of is to keep fresh water before them all 
of the time, feed pin-head oat meal dry, furnish them with plenty of 
grit and a fair amount of green stuff, as well as to give them a 
chance to run." 

B. A. Stoker, Sebastopal, Calif. : "Change the food. Give bran, 
coarse cornmeal. Watch very carefully the temperature of the 
brooder and room. My first feed is rolled oats for several days." 

Harry C. Nunan, Cape Porpoise, Me.: "Boiled rice with me 
has always given good results. Feed sparingly." 

William A. Penfield, Waterville, N. J. : "Keep dry and warm ; 
feed dry food — Johnny cake, cracked wheat and corn, plenty of 
charcoal, grit and pure water at all times. But let them get hungry 
before feeding grains. This is also a preventative which is better 
than the cure." 



In preparing broilers for market, great care must be taken in 
the work. Properly dressed carcasses are attractive and find a ready 
sale. A writer in Farm Journal says, in dressing, chicks will lose 
about 12 per cent or about nine pounds to the hundred-weight. For 
at least a week before slaughtering they should be fed on corn meal 
and milk almost exclusively. Other food should be given as a 
variety to keep up their appetite. Corn meal is the cheapest fat- 



64 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

tening substance that can be supplied, and gives, also, a yellowish 
cast to the flesh which is very desirable. Where there are fowls 
or other chicks to interfere it is well to pen those to be fattened in 
a clean, shady yard. 

As dry picked poultry commands the best prices it is advisable 
to dress broilers in this way if it can be done without inflicting un- 
necessary torture upon the birds. In opposition to many kind- 
hearted folks who have drawn harrowing pictures of hanging human 
beings up by the heels and pulling the hair out by the roots and 
have drawn other horrible comparisons, we maintain that killing 
and picking dry is no more cruel than killing and picking after 
scalding. Whether the bird suffers prolonged pain or not depends 
on the manner of killing and not on the manner of picking. 

There is much to be learned about dressing poultry. It -is 
useless to send fowls to market unless fat and neatly dressed. At- 
tractiveness is an important feature in selling, and great loss fre- 
quently occurs from lack of it. In selling to local dealers use the 
same care in dressing that would be taken if shipping to a distant 
commission merchant is the advice of a writer in The American 
Agriculturist, who says : Fowls look best when dry picked, 
especially if fat and plump. If they are not in fine condition, it is 
best to scald them before picking. When dry picked, the natural 
firmness of the flesh remains, and poultry for general markets 
should be so prepared if possible. Let the fowls go without food 
for 12 or 24 hours before killing, so that nothing will remain in the 
crop to sour. Kill by severing the veins of the neck or inside the 
mouth. This can be quickly and painlessly done with a sharp knife. 
Hang the fowls by the feet to bleed and pick while the bodies are 
warm, using great care not to tear the skin. Leave the head and 
feet on and do not remove the crop or intestines. Wash in cold 
water, wipe dry and hang up by the feet in a cool place. For scald- 
ing, heat the water about to the boiling point. Holding the fowl 
by the head and feet, dip the body into the water three or four times. 
If the head touches the water, it will give the eyes a shrunken ap- 
pearance. Buyers are naturally suspicious, and if the eyes are 
sunken they think the fowl has been sick. When the feathers and 
pinfeathers have been removed, immerse the fowl in scalding water 
for four or five seconds and then dip immediately into ice cold water 
to give it a plump appearance. If the head is cut off, turn the skin 
back of trifle, cut off the bone, and drawing the skin forward tie it 
neatly. 

A writer in the American Poultry Journal gives this excellent 
description of the work of killing and dressing for market: 

The chicks should be shut up the night before in a clean coop 
with board floor, sprinkled with sawdust or sand. They -must be 
given a supper, but do not feed them a particle the day they are 
to be killed. All the arrangements for picking should be made the 
day before. A long, narrow coop should be arranged close to the 
sticking pole, and this pole should be placed near where the pin 
featherer is to sit. We nail a pole or shingle rib fast to the feed 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 65 

room or end of brooder house. This pole projects out about four 
feet. Near the end we tie a piece of twine (doubled), and this comes 
down just low enough so that when we slip the chick's feet in the 
slipnoose in the end of the string the body of the chick will come 
down just below our shoulders. 

The small blade of a pocket-knife (if sharp) answers well for 
sticking. The doomed chick is bound up by the feet in the slip- 
noose, and the killer should run the backs of the third and fourth 
fingers beneath the other wing. Shut down on the wings and with 
the right hand raise the head and place it between the thumb and 
third finger of the left hand ; open the beak and prop it open with 
the first finger of the left hand. The head should be in such a posi- 
tion so that the beak will point out from the hand and so the roof 
of the mouth (when opened) will be presented full to the killer. 
Thus we hold the chick securely, and by holding tightly and pulling 
down on the string the bird cannot move, no matter how hard he 
may try. The right hand is left free to stick and pull the feathers. 
The killer now places the knife in the bird's mouth and shoves the 
point into the brain of the bird. This is the particular point in 
killing. This stab should be made in the center of the mouth, be- 
tween the eyes and ears. If correctly done you will feel a slight 
shiver — so to speak — pass through the bird, and thus he loses 
control of the feathers so that they can be pulled out by the handful 
without tearing the skin. Remember, it all depends on this stick- 
ing, and a little practice will soon tell how it should be done. Draw 
the knife from side to center on each side at top or roof of mouth. 
These cuts should be made just back of the eyes, and if cut sufficient- 
ly the blood will run a stream out of the mouth. The mouth is 
then dropped, but the thumb and finger of the left hand should still 
hold a few feathers on top of head so the bird cannot spatter blood 
on the killer. 

All this is done in much iess time than it takes to tell it, and 
the feathers should be drawn immediately. By twisting the wrist 
of the left hand the breast of the bird is brought around to the front, 
'and the feathers should be removed heie first. If they come easy 
they can be drawn anyhow, but if hard then pull all feathers toward 
the tail or up, and only a few at a time. Give the wrist of the left 
hand another twist and bring the back around. Remove the tail 
feathers — by pulling up — and then work down the back to the neck. 
Now pull the feathers (carefully) from the butts of the wings and 
parts of the neck, then return to the fluff, after which let go with the 
left hand and grasp a wing. Pull the short feathers and then the 
quills. In this hasty pulling we have only drawn the large feathers 
and have very probably left a good many scattering ones, which 
can now be pulled more leisurely. About this time the bird will 
oe going through its death struggles, and it can again be held as 
formerly, while the picking proceeds, and it is now ready to be 
passed to the pin featherers. 

If done as it should be it will take from one to two minutes to 
dress him. The pin-featherer is supposed to carefully sew up all 



66 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

torn places, if any. This method may seem cruel, but it is the only 
way to get the feathers off. After the bird has struggled the 
feathers cannot be drawn without taking the flesh with them. The 
market demands dry-picked chicks, so dry-picked they will have to 
be. A high stool can be used to partly sit on if desired. As the 
chick is relieved of its large feathers it is passed in the door to the 
pin-featherers. If the weather is hot, then things are moved to a 
shady corner. Thus the sticker has to take but three or four steps 
to either get a chick or pass one along to the women. A large 
barrel (oil barrels after the oil has been burned out are good) 
stands handy to the pickers (outdoors under a window and pro- 
tected from the sun). This barrel is filled with fresh, clean water, 
to which a little salt has been added, and as the chick is dressed it 
is thrown in, and should remain there two or three hours. At noon 
these should be washed — the feet and mouth — and placed in an- 
other barrel of clean water, in which they may remain over night. 
If the weather is warm ice should be added to the water. If the 
chicks are to be shipped to a distant market next morning, and ice 
is to be used, then the chicks need not be dried, but if no ice is to 
be used chicks should be hung up to dry an hour before packing. 

Pack in boxes that will hold not over 10 pounds each. Place 
in a layer of clean straw and then a layer of chickens. Fold the 
neck under one wing and press the shoulders well up against the 
straw at sides of box. The chick should rest on the breast bone, 
with the legs straight out. Place in a row all around the box,, 
then another row around those, shoving the shoulders well up to the 
tail of the first row. If a small space should yet remain place in 
enough chicks to fill it up, but lay these on their sides on top of the 
legs of the other chicks. A thin layer of straw can now be used, 
or the second layer of chicks may be placed directly on top of the 
first layer, and so on. Pack as tightly as possible so there will be no 
moving. Fill up remaining space, if any, with straw and press on 
the cover. If ice is used keep the chicks in place by nailing in nar- 
row pieces of board, cut so as to just fit inside the box, and place 
the ice (broken up rather fine) in these, and be sure and have 
enough to last until the chicks arrive in market. The narrow slats 
will keep the chicks from moving as the ice melts. If barrels are 
used then fine ice will have to be worked in between the layers of 
chicks. 

The method as adopted by a Hammonton, N. J., poultryman, is 
as follows : 

After the birds are caught and weighed, they are fastened by 
their legs to a stout cord suspended from the ceiling (a barrel being 
placed underneath them to catch the blood and feathers). The 
operator then gets the bird in front of him, and places it under his 
left arm. He inserts a knife back in the mouth, and then, bringing 
it a little forward, cuts crosswise, severing an artery. During the 
operation the mouth is held open with the fingers of the left hand. 
Great care must be taken not to cut too much for fear the bird will 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 67 

die before the feathers are all removed, in which case it would be 
difficult to pick. 

The feathers of the breast are first plucked, then those on the 
neck, followed by those on the back, the tail, and wing feathers, 
finally cleaning off those on the legs. The more expert one becomes 
the quicker this operation is performed. 

After the long feathers are removed, pin-feathering begins, and 
generally before the carcass is cold the body is entirely bare. 

The birds are then thrown into a tub of ice water, to which 
some salt has been added. When thoroughly chilled, the carcass 
is removed, the clotted blood in the mouth is taken out with the 
finger, and the bird again placed in cold water for a final cleaning. 



The foundation of success in broiler raising lies in procuring 
good eggs. On this suject R. W. Davison, Glendola, N. J., some 
years ago wrote a very valuable article, which appeared in the Poul- 
try Keeper. We make the following extracts : 

"It is impossible for the best machine to hatch poor eggs and the 
best brooding arrangements cannot raise weakly chicks. The first 
of importance, then, is the hen that lays the egg. In order to get 
a strong, healthy egg we must have only strong, healthy hens in 
our breeding yards. The vitality of these hens must not be sapped 
by in-breeding. This fault may not show itself in the parents but 
will in the chicks. We must introduce new blood each year. 

"There is great difficulty in procuring desirable new blood by 
purchasing new roosters, for these roosters may, themselves, be 
from in-breed stock, and to overcome this difficulty we should 
raise our own. This can be accomplished by having a pen of fowls 
properly mated for this result. It has often been said that the 
rooster is half the flock and there is more truth in the statement 
than most people think. There is nothing so reliable as a good, 
healthy, early hatched cockerel. February is the proper time to 
hatch the cockerels, and by keeping them growing you can then 
pick out the best of them, in the fall, and be sure of good results. 

"I advocate early hatched pullets (not later than March hatch) 
for stock layers. It is probably true that not quite so many chicks 
can be raised- from them as from hens. If, however, the hens are 
overfat, as is too often the case, then give me pullets. These pullets 
should be got to laying by October 1st, and then by November 1st 
the eggs can be used for hatching. 

"just a word here as to the care of these pullets. By the first 
of June, or right after mowing, they should be placed out in the 
fields away from the cockerels and the rest of the stock. Build 
small houses that will hold about fifty chicks until maturity. Have 
these with a hinged front — hinged from the top — so that when the 
weather grows warm these fronts can be raised and thus form a 
protection from the sun and storms. Leave these open during warm 
nights. These houses need be only large enough for roosting quar- 
ters and made so light that they can easily be moved to fresh 



68 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

ground every day. Of course no floor is used therein. These 
houses will soon pay for themselves in fertilizing the ground. I 
usually allow them to remain two nights before moving, so as tc 
give a heavier coating of droppings. The next crop from that field 
will always show just where the coops have stood. Always place 
the coops in a grass field, and if possible, next to a wheat stubble. 

"It will be necessary to feed twice a day if we want rapid 
growth. The morning feed is a soft mess of a general mixture with- 
out meat. The night feed should be wheat, oats, barley or buck- 
wheat, and in quantity about what they will eat up quickly. You 
will soon find that they will not require heavy feeding as they will 
gather nearly a crop full before night. 

"The object should not be to force the comb (early laying) 
but growth. We cannot force both at the same time. After a pul- 
let commences to lay her growth practically stops. I wish to lay 
great stress on growth, as it is the peg on which future success with 
broilers hang. We must have a large, strong, well developed frame. 
These flocks of fifty chicks should be placed far apart and on new 
ground, i. e., ground that has been tilled since last used for chicks. 
I know, from my own experience, that those who can give the 
method a trial will never go back in the old ruts. Chicks must have 
freedom if the best results are desired. 

"Properly speaking, these pullets should be mated with two- 
year-old roosters and yet the hen herself throws the largest in- 
fluence in the chick, and while the rooster is of great importance 
the hen is the "all and in-all" after all — please excuse the alls. The 
strongest two-year-old rooster cannot insure strong chicks if the 
pullets are immature or the hens are sickly. The trouble with hens 
is that they will be in molt about the time we wish to commence 
to set — November ist — and they will lay but few eggs and the eggs 
will not be at the best. I hang my faith — all things considered — on 
early hatched pullets if managed as above. We may loose a few 
more chicks but we will also have more eggs. 

"If the cockerels are hatched in February and kept growing, 
then we can use them, as they are more vigorous and far more cer- 
tain than cocks. These are the first steps in broiler raising, and we 
should, yea must, be successful here before taking up the other. 
Where a large number of fowls are kept the only practical way is 
to yard them in flocks of fifteen. Give plenty of house and yard 
room. Keep them busy, and introduce a vigorous cock or cockerel 
in each yard. Keep your eye on the cock. Number each pen and 
as you gather the eggs at night, mark each egg with the number of 
the pen in which it is layed. All eggs from pen one should be 
marked one and so on. As you test these eggs, after they have 
been in the incubator five or seven days, note how they come out, 
not only as to fertility, but also as to strength of germ. If they fail 
to come up to a reasonable average remove the cock and try another, 
as the fault will usually be in him, but not always. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 69 

"Over fatness in the hens will produce unfertility, and then once 
in a while you will find a barren on sterile hen. We will often find 
a cock that will be all right the second year, and sometimes the third 
year too. Always use such, as they will insure stronger chicks, 
and by keeping your eye on the eggs at testing time, you can regu- 
late these things to your liking. Always keep over a few of the 
best of all early hatched cockerels, so as to have something to fal) 
back on in case of emergency." 



£o , ^Money. in Broilers and Squabs. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Squab Industry as Gleaned from a Visit to William E. Rice, of 

Bridgeton, N. J. 

Of late years the squab pigeon business has developed quite a 
boom ; and, as seems customary in all booms, speculators have been 
making money out of it. The press throughout the country have 
published all sorts of "expert" articles, and these led to the belief 
that the "Royal Road to Wealth" was simply nothing more than a 
pigeon plant. Of course, all such writers had axes to grind. They 
were dealers in pigeons and supplies. 

About the first reliable information given the public came from 
a manual (Farmers' Bulletin, No. 177) issued by the United States 
Department of Agriculture, entitled "Squab Raising," by William 
E. Rice. 

In order to get as complete data as possible, the writer paid Mr. 
Rice a visit at his home and lofts — 83 Fayette street, Bridgeton. 
New Jersey — with gratifying results. 

Plate 7 is an excellent portrait of Mr. Rice. 

Plate 8 gives full view of working Homers, showing nesting 
pans, and squabs in nests. The birds represented in this picture 
number fifty pairs, and are eighteen months old. They are bred 
from the finest stock money could buy. 

The floor of each nest is movable, so it can readily be taken out 
and cleaned. Mr. Rice once a week dashes a mixture of lime and 
carbolic acid in these nest boxes, and claims it to be the best preven- 
tive of lice and disease. 

"I will give a dollar a piece for every louse found on my 
birds," said Mr. Rice, "with the exception of wing lice — long, thin 
insects that are always more or less common in lofts, but which do 
no harm." 

The louse that causes the most trouble is a small, round fellow, 
and found on the head and body of the bird. These blood suckers, 
if allowed to increase in numbers, will soon sap the life out of the 
flock — first attacking the weakest of the lot. 

If lice get a foothold they will increase with remarkable rapidity, 
and it will mean hard work to get rid of them. Plenty of kerosene 
oil must be used. The nest boxes, perches, and every crack, crevice 
and corner must be fairly saturated with it. This must be followed 
up with a weekly cleaning, and powdered lime well saturated with 
crude carbolic acid scattered in the corners of the nests. 

Mr. Rice is opposed to the use of sawdust for the bottom of 
nests and on the floor. He savs the worst attack of lice he ever had 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



7* 




; 



/$jv]^^ 


■ '&• 


t iilf , j; ; _ , Yvi: . W JH %:%^- 


; 


/i'^^H^^^^M 


pi 


El >f| 




Jj 


■ i* 


3fl 




jS^S??:" tV x*\1H 


In Is 

V fi 


siMr 1 





J2 Moticy in Broilers and Squabs^ 

was when he used sawdust, and since discontinuing its use he has 
had no further trouble. 

Cleanliness is an important factor, and this rule Mr. Rice strict- 
ly enforces. His pens are kept very neat and thoroughly dis- 
infected. The birds are given a bath during the Summer, two or 
three times a week; in Winter, once a week, about the middle of a 
nice bright day, 

Mr. Rice supplies his birds with tobacco stems for nesting 
material. 

All new stock should be quarantined before placed with the 
breeding flock. A good dusting with Persian insect powder, or 
snuff, will clean them of vermin. 

Plate 9 shows birds just described, and also gives view of 
length and width of fly. 

In the rear of the fly will be noticed a small house. In this 
Mr. Rice is experimenting with twenty-five pair of first-class birds, 
every pair of which are straight Homers, with the exception of one 
bird — a White Dragoon. This experiment is conducted to ascertain 
what can be accomplished in small quarters during cold and warm 
weather. 

The birds were placed in this house on the first day of January. 
1904, and up to the date of our visit — July 21, 1904 — they produced 
an average of six pair of squabs for each pair. At this rate Mr. 
Rice thinks it safe to say that by the end of the year each pair of 
breeders will have ten pair of young to their credit. 

The house is only 6x8 feet (floor space), and is four feet high \r 
the rear, and eight feet high in front — slant roof. The fly is six feet 
wide, eighteen feet long, and eight feet high. 

There has been no sign of sickness in the flock so far, and only 
two squabs were lost, caused by a fight between two cock birds, 
they trampling the young to death in the nest. 

Mr. Rice, however, is not an advocate of small houses, especial- 
ly for beginners, who are too apt to neglect birds causing troubl? 
from which they would not know how to extricate themselves. 

Plate 10 shows a model house of five pens, containing two hun- 
dred and fifty pairs of birds. , The house measures forty feet in 
length, twelve feet in breadth, and more fully described later on. 
The aviary or "fly" is thirty-two feet long, and eight feet high. 

The bath tubs are seen to the left of the picture. These ar 
zinc lined, and when not in use are turned upsidedown. as shown 
in the illustration. As soon as the birds are done bathing, the tubs- 
are emptied. The water is of an oily nature, and looks very much 
like milk. 

The ground-floor of each fly is covered with four inches of 
fine, clear grit sand. It requires four wagon loads in each com- 
partment (which costs Mr. Rice one dollar a load). Four times a 
year these flies are scraped clean, swept and resanded. 

Plate 11 shows inside of a fly containing a pen of two hundred 
young Homers, four months old, and selected for future breeding. 
The portrait shows well the clean, sanded ground space. Mr. Rice 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 73 

thinks it just as essential to have this part as clean as the house. As 
rains make the ground filthy, this sanding prevents any stagnation 
and the birds remain more healthy. 

Plate 12 is an interesting picture. It finds Clayton Tutis, Mr. 
Rice's "right-hand man," and who is more familiarly known as 
"Pink" — busily engaged at dressing squabs for market. "Pink" 
averages from 18 to 24 birds an hour, rough picking; or 14 to 16 
complete picking, which includes the removal of all the pin feathers. 

On picking days, before the stock is fed and watered, the squabs 
intended for market are caught, placed in a hamper, and removed 
to the killing room. As soon as this is done the rest of the stock is 
fed and watered. 

These hampers aire placed within easy reach of the pickers, 
and beside the picker is kept a basin of water. Directly in front is 
suspended, in a horizontal position, a ring of wood or iron, about a 
foot in diameter, and from this ring hang four cords, eight inches 
long, sufficient for hanging four squabs at one time. A slip noose 
is made around the legs, tail and wings, allowing about two inches 
of the ends of the wings to project beyond the noose ; tightened well. 

With a sharp, pointed knife a straight cut is made well back 
in the roof of the mouth, and then it is drawn forward, cutting clear 
into the brain. This being done a piece of wire, about six inches 
long, and weighted at the end with a piece of lead about a quarter 
pound in weight, is hooked in the squab's mouth. 

Four birds are killed in turn, and picking is immediately begun 
when the first one is dead. But until experience and speed are ac- 
quired, Mr. Rice thinks novices had better kill and pick but one bird 
at a time. They must be "rough-picked" before they get too cold. 

After killing, allow the birds to remain suspended, but re- 
lease the wings, grasping them both in the left hand, back of the 
bird, while picking. Dip the thumb and forefingers of the right 
hand in the basin of water, and begin picking the neck, allowing 
three-quarters of an inch of feathers next the head unpicked. Con- 
tinue to hold the wings in the left hand until the entire front of bird 
including legs, are free of feathers. While removing the remaining 
feathers from the bird, bring the wings in front of the bird, holding 
them in the left hand as before, and while thus held also pluck the 
quills and larger feathers from the wings, after which finish each 
wing separately. 

The rough-feathering being completed, the pin-feathering is 
performed, a small knife being helpful in this operation. 

When a man becomes expert in this work, he does not finish 
up the feathering of the four birds before he kills a new lot, but as 
soon as three are finished he kills three more, and while they are 
bleeding he cleans the fourth one. 

As soon as a squab is completely dressed it is thrown in a tub 
of cold water to drive out the animal heat, and to firm and plump it. 
After all the birds are picked, they are placed in another large tub 
of water (Mr. Rice uses cold spring water for this purpose), and 
finallv the feet and mouths are carefully washed to remove all filth 



74 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

and blood. They are then placed in the third tub where they re- 
main until ready for shipment, one or two hours, as required. 

During the Winter the birds, after dressed and washed, are 
hung on hooks. Plate 13 shows one hundred and six squabs hung up 
to dry, ready to pack and ship. 

If the birds are sold to a local dealer, they are taken from this 
rack, placed in a basket and delivered immediately. But when they 
are to be shipped they are packed in a box or barrel between layers 
of ice. The amount of ice needed depends upon the time of the 
year the shipment is made. During Winter no ice is used. 

On the day of our visit "Pink" was busy at work getting ready 
for a shipment of squabs. There were one hundred and eight birds 
in the lot, averaging eight pounds to the dozen. The prices last 
year averaged sixty cents a pair, but this year (1904) the prices 
run a shade better. 

It was interesting to watch the packing. Mr. Rice did that him- 
self. A shoe box was used for the purpose, and the inside was neatly 
lined with manilla wrapping paper. About two inches of crushed 
ice was placed in the bottom of the box, and then came the packing 
of the squabs. They were placed in a slanting position — heads down 
and feet up — the latter slanting about an inch above the head. In 
this way the one hundred and eight birds were placed and ice liberal- 
ly used, several inches of it being on top. Then came more paper, 
and then the lid was tacked on, and the top wired to prevent tamper- 
ing. 

We could not help admiring the plump carcasses — plump and 
fat, and with breasts as round and full of meat as it is possible to 
get them. Homers certainly do produce fine carcasses, and their 
clean white appearance is an attraction. 

Mr. Rice has been experimenting with a cross of Dragoon on 
Homer, but it is not so satisfactory as the pure Homer. The 
Dragoon gives the carcass a prominent breast bone which spoils its 
looks. 

"The novice should begin with from fifteen to twenty-five pair," 
he said, "but before he buys he wants to know something of the 
goods he is about getting, and the methods of the man he buys from. 
Birds should be banded, and a record accompany them, telling the 
color and sex. This is a guarantee, and he will be safe in putting 
them in the coop. If he buys haphazard, trusting to the verbal as- 
surance of the seller, he is apt to make a mistake, and not have suc- 
cess. He must know what he is going to do before he starts. 

"A mistake beginners so often make is that they put new birds 
in their flock. This too frequently breaks up the original flock, and 
there is great loss. 

"So many big advertisers do not know what the birds are which 
they are selling, from the fact that they buy tnem up all over the 
country. They have no way of finding out. The result is the buyer 
gets them home, believes he has mated stock — sooner or later he 
quits the business, and all because he did not buy right in the first 
place. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 75 

"If not run on a scientific basis, no success can be made of the 
squab business. It must be made a study, and the beginning - must be 
with mated birds. If mated they will go right to work, provided, of 
course, they are supplied with good, clean water, good feed, plenty 
of charcoal, grit, oyster shell, and fine table salt. 

"I think the Spring of the year is the best time to start. 

"What the beginner generally does if he wants to increase 
his flock, is to buy ten pair of breeders and save all the birds raised 
the first year. He will have, as a result, fifty to sixty pair of young 
birds. He will let them all breed. The following year they will be- 
gin raising squabs, and probably one hundred pair of young will 
again be saved for breeders. The third year comes trouble — the 
squabs begin to die at the age of two or three weeks, while others 
will be weak and puny. 

"Then the beginner rushes to a pigeon dealer and wants to 
know what ails his squabs. They hatch all right, but die at a tender 
age. No one seems to know what is the matter. He continues the 
same breeding and reaps the same results. The trouble lies in the 
inbreeding from that original flock of ten pair. Sisters, cousins and 
aunts are all bred together. The offspring have no stamina, and 
the parent birds do not properly feed and care for their young. 

"That is the cause of most of the failures." 

It was very plain, on our visit to Mr. Rice, that if a beginner 
will visit a good, practical man he will learn more in two hours talk 
than he can experience in two years labor. 

Whenever Mr. Rice changes a house and flock, he has the in- 
terior of the pen heavily whitewashed. One cannot do the work too 
well. 

Mr. Rice prefers the Homer for the squab business. Some think 
a Runt crossed on Homer gives good results; but Mr. Rice has ex- 
perienced that this cross seems to wipe out the nature of the Homer 
blood. The best cross he knows of is Dragoon on Homer, but noth- 
ing equals the Homer blood straight. He has also found that the 
Dragoon is not as hardy a bird as the Homer. 

Mr. Rice was asked what he considered the breeding life of a 
pigeon, and he replied that he has bred continuously from one pen 
for six years, and still finds them good for that purpose; but after 
seven or eight years breeding, they are of little value. Their prime 
of breeding life he considers between the age of three and five years.. 

He said the first year the parent stock are apt to be more or 
less neglectful, for want of experience. "They are very much like 
a young married couple with their 'initial boy.' " 

Then came the subject of feed and feeding, probably the most 
important part of all the work, and upon this subject the writer 
secured considerable valuable advice, which we condense as follows: 

In buying g^ain, be careful what you buy. The best is none too 
good, and great care should be taken in its selection. 

The staple articles are cracked corn, wheat, Kaffir corn and 
Canada peas. Millet and hemp are given, occasionally. 

Never feed the birds in the fly, but always inside of the building. 



76 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Alwa) r s feed from a trough. 

Don't give more than they will eat up clean. 

Feed twice a day. In Summer, about 6.30 a. m., and 4.30 p. m 
Winter, 7.30 a. m., and 3 p. m. 

As soon as the pigeons are given their food, close up the houses 
and do not stand about or among the birds at feeding time, or they 
may neglect the squabs and will not properly feed them. 

Do not tamper with the birds for an hour after being fed. 

One box, about the size of a small cigar box, should be filled 
about a third full of fine table salt; another with cracked oyster 
shell ; and another with pulverized charcoal. Once a week replenish 
the supply of each, as all three articles are invaluable in maintaining 
good health. 

Each pen should be supplied with a feed trough about ten inches 
wide, and four feet long — the sides being one and a half inches high. 
This trough is placed in the centre of the room. 

Mr. Rice averages two scoopfuls of a mixture of cracked corn, 
wheat and peas as a morning allowance for fifty pairs of birds.. 

The evening feed is a mixture of cracked corn, Kafir corn, millet 
and peas, equal parts. 

Twice a week — usually Thursdays and Sundays — hemp seed is 
given in place of millet. Hemp and millet seeds must not be fed too 
liberally, as they are of a very fattening nature. 

Always sift the cracked corn before feeding it. 

Squabs are fed by the parent birds. For about the first five 
days of their life, nature provides a food commonly termed "pigeon 
milk" — a creamy substance contained in the crops of the pigeons, 
and which the parent bird ejects from its mouth into the mouths 
of the young. After that the parent carries grain to the young, and 
administers in the same way. 

Mr. Rice says that at the present prices of grain, he has found 
that it costs him about one-seventh of a cent a day for each bird, or 
about fifty-two cents a year. His profits, with this feeding, have 
been an average of one dollar and a half per pair, net. 

Fresh, pure, clean drinking water should be given daily in twO- 
gallon stone fountains (in Winter galvanized fountains are used, 
instead of the stone ones, as the latter are apt to crack from the 
water freezing). These fountains should be washed carefully each 
morning before filled with fresh water. About twice a week place 
a piece of stone lime, about the size of a hickory nut, in each foun- 
tain. About three times a month disinfect the fountains by using 
ten drops o£--carbolic acid in each two-gallon fountain. Mr. Rice 
says it does no harm to allow the acid to remain in the water for the 
birds to drink that day. 

Mr. Rice's plan for a house for a novice, is as follows : 

Face the South, if possmle. 

Build to either of these sizes: 6x8 feet, 8x10 feet, or 10x12 feet, 
to accommodate from ten to twenty-five pairs. 

Have the back of the building four feet high ; the front six fee*. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 77 

Have a nine-light window in front, eighteen inches from the 
floor. The window is to be taken out in Summer. 

Place the door on the west side. 

The fly can be made from sixteen to twenty-four feet in length, 
eight feet high. 

For a larger house, Mr. Rice recommends : Forty feet in length, 
twelve feet in width, and six feet the height for both front and back 
walls; peak, ten feet; gable end, nine feet; floor space of each pen, 
8x9 feet. This building can be divided into five pens, in which fifty 
pair of breeders can be placed in a pen, or two hundred and fifty 
pairs in the entire building. Each pen is also supplied with one 
hundred and twenty nests. 



78 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Pointers on Duck Culture, and Experiences by the Most Extensive 
Duck Raisers in This Country. 

Provide shade. Too much exposure to the hot sun is fatal to 
young ducklings. 

Do not feed whole grain. 

The duck usually lays at night. 

Never let the supply of drinking water run Out. 

Ducks require soft, succulent food. 

The foundation of success lies in the breeding stock. 

Vigorous stock can be profitably bred at four years of age. 

Fifty per cent is a good average hatch early in the season. 

The bulk of failures is due to use of weak breeding stock. 

From July to September prices for green ducks remain un- 
changed. From September to November ducklings again bring 
good prices. 

Green ducks at eight weeks old should weigh nine pounds to 
the pair. 

Do not allow the ducklings to get wet before they assume their 
white feathers. 

Whole grain is apt to produce leg weakness, and the birds 
break down and die. 

Do not forget that a duck cannot well eat without having water 
to drink with it. 

At ten weeks of age, ducklings should weigh from 10 to n 
pounds to the pair. 

Green ducks bring the best prices about May ist. From then 
on until July the price gradually falls. 

George Pollard, of Pawtucket, R. I., prefers ducks and drakes 
in their second year for breeding. 

Clean sand should always be mixed in the food of old or young 
ducks. About a handful to a half bucket of feed. 

George Pollard feeds his ducklings, the first four days, two- 
thirds bran, and one-third cornmeal, mixed with cold water or skim- 
milk. 

A good mating is a drake to four or five ducks in the early part 
of the season, and six to seven ducks to a drake during the summer. 

Always keep a trough of cracked oyster shells before the breed- 
ing ducks. 

In dressing ducks, dipping the hand or fingers into a dish of 
water, causes the feathers to stick to the hand, and enables one to 
remove them more rapidly and with much less exertion. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 79 

The last of August generally ends the duck laying season. 

An average picker will dress from 40 to 50 ducks a day. 

C. F. Newman says duck eggs for hatching should not be 
washed, or the oily, greasy covering on the outside shell will be 
removed, and they will not hatch so well. 

After the first four days, George Pollard gives his ducklings a 
mixture of equal parts of cornmeal and bran, and seven or eight per 
cent of beef scraps. After this the per cent of beef scraps is gradual- 
ly increased. This mixture is fed up until killing time. 

Prof. Samuel Cushman says in Rural New Yorker, that leaving 
the bran out of the duck feed stops their eating. It might work with 
green food, but does not without. Feeding green food makes the 
ducks yellow, and they sell for less. White-skinned ducks are de- 
manded. 

An earth floor in the breeding house is best. 

Avoid overcrowding ducks as you would hens. 

The first eggs of the season are rarely fertile. 

Salt hay, leaves or chopped straw make good bedding. 

Charcoal in the food of the young will prevent sickness. 

It is a mistake to allow young ducklings an unlimited range. 

Medium-sized drakes are considered the best for market pro- 
duction. 

Ducks kept on land must have fresh drinking water at least 
three times a day. 

A less number of drakes are needed in a flock where bathing 
water is supplied. 

Half-^grown ducks, when overcrowded in a pen, are apt to get 
into the vice of pulling feathers. 

James Rankin sows rye or barley every summer in the unused 
duck yards in order to purify them. 

Do not feed green food the week before killing for market, as 
it gives the flesh a too yellow appearance. 

Mr. Rankin estimates that a young duck can be grown to ten 
weeks of age at a cost for food of four cents per pound. 

It is hard to fatten the laying duck. 

All the market ducks are scalded before dressing. 

Clover hay steeped in hot water, is a good substitute for green 
food for breeding stock. 

A brooder 7x10 feet is about right for 100 ducklings. 

Ducklings usually start their molt when about eleven weeks 
old. It takes a duck about six weeks to molt and get in good con- 
dition again. 

A. J. Hallock places cracked oyster shell before his ducklings 
from the time they are put in the brooder house. 

Twisted wings in ducks is caused by rapid growth of quills, 
they growing faster than the feathers holding up the flights. 

Duck eggs must be set as fresh as possible to secure strong 
fertility and a good hatch. They lose their fertility very quickly. 

Young ducks accustomed to bathing water at five or six weeks 
of age, will stand more of a rain storm than those kept on land. 



So Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Hallock's cold brooder is 175 feet long, by twelve feet wide. It 
is divided into pens 10x10 feet, with a limit of one hundred young 
in a flock. 

Mr. Hallock says it costs five cents per pound to feed ducks up 
to ten weeks of age, two cents for help, two cents to market, and 
three cents for eggs, insurance, etc., making a total of twelve cents 
a pound. All over that amount is a clear gain. 

Mr. Hallock keeps his ducks in the heated brooder for from 
three to five weeks, according to season and demand for room. After 
that they are put in cold brooders for about two weeks. Very early 
in the season they are kept in the cold brooders until ready for 
market. 

Fifty breeding ducks should keep three 200-egg incubators 
going, and turn out between two and three thousand ducks in a 
season, giving one man all the employment he could want. When 
one man would have to do all the work, fifty ducks would give bet- 
ter returns than one hundred would. 

Mr. Hallock places the feed for his young brooder ducks on 
regular feed sacks, instead of troughs. After the meal is over the 
sacks are gathered up, and when very dirty are washed. 

Mr. Hallock says he would rather wash the eggs before put- 
ting them in the incubator) than to use very dirty ones. Yet he 
believes that washing does more or less injure them. He tried the 
experiment of putting eggs in one tray of his machine that were 
gathered from the bottom of the creek where the breeding ducks 
bathe in. He noticed that but 20 to 25 per cent of these eggs were 
fertile , owing to the length of time they were deposited in the 
water. At the same time eggs that were layed in the houses, or on 
land, gave 35 per cent fertility. 

The weakest part of a duck is its legs. 

Bathing water is an injury to a soft, green duck, as it developes 
too much muscle, and is apt to render the carcass tough. 

From February to May the eggs are the strongest in fertility. 

On the duck farm of Weber Bros., Wrentham, Mass., the young 
ducks for the first four weeks are fed five times a day. After that 
they are fed every six hours. 

Bread or cracker crumbs, moistened with boiled milk, into 
which a little powdered chalk has been dusted, Rankin recommends 
as the proper diet for ducklings having diarrhoea. 

In feeding ducklings, go through the pens several times, and 
give an additional amount to all that do not seem satisfied. One 
hour after feeding make the rounds, and gather up all feed that is 
left over. 

Two weeks time will be sufficient for fattening ducks. 

William H. Truslow says that the feathers from ten ducks are 
required to make one pound. 

The saleable market duck must be fat, plump, and round, and 
the skin of a uniform color. 

A good fattening food is equal parts of bran, cornmeal and mid- 
dlings, and one-eighth beef scraps. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



81 




82 Motiey in Broilers and Sqnabs. 

Ducklings should be started in the brooder at a temperature of 
about ioo degrees, and gradually reduced in about four days to 8c 
degrees. Sixty degrees will be warm enough at two weeks of age. 

"Ducks love to be out in the rain storm," writes W. R. Curtiss 
& Co., "and we think there is nothing that will help increase egg 
production like a good, heavy rain storm, in which they can play 
and puddle to their heart's content." 

Weber Bros, teach their ducklings to eat by dipping their bills 
in a pail of water, and then place them on a feed board covered with 
bread crumbs. When the beak touches the board, some of the dry 
food sticks to it, is tasted, and immediately they search for more. 

According to Prof. Cushman, in Country Gentleman, Weber 
Bros, give these reasons for their success : Do not breed in-and-in, 
or raise breeding stock from anything younger than yearlings. Do 
not fail to give your young birds, to be used for breeders, more 
growing food, and more freedom, than you give the ducks that are 
fatted and killed. Mate up before November i, and be sure to feed 
plenty of cooked vegetables and green food, as well as the right 
grain, if you want the eggs to be fertilized early in winter. 

The following weights of ducklings from the shell to market, 
were gathered by A. J. Hallock, of the Atlantic Farm, Speonk, Long 
Island. Mr. Hallock has a camera and made the photos himself, 
which he showed to the writer while on a visit to his farm : 

Half out of the shell, weight 2% ounces. 

All out the shell, weight 2J ounces. 

One week old, weight 3 ounces. 

Two weeks old, weight 5g ounces. 

Three weeks old, weight 7J ounces. 

Four weeks old, 1 pound, 3 ounces. 

Five weeks old, 2 pounds, 6 ounces. 

Six weeks old, 3 pounds 12 ounces. 

Seven weeks old, 4 pounds, 12 ounces. 

Eight weeks old, 6 pounds, 2 ounces. 

Nine weeks old, 7 pounds, 4 ounces. 

Ten weeks old, 8 pounds. 

Eleven weeks old, 9 pounds, 3 ounces. 

Do not excite the laying ducks. 

The laying of the young duck is irregular at first. 

The duck feed should be neither too dry nor too sloppy. 

Shake up the bedding every day or two, and remove the 
manure. 

During cold weather it is better to house the breeding ducks 
than to allow them out doors. 

During snowy or icy weather, throw bedding in part of the 
run so as to prevent the duck from getting cold feet. 

Rankin runs his temperature in incubator for duck eggs, at 102 
degrees the first three weeks ; 103 degrees the fourth week, and 104 
degrees when the ducks are about to hatch. 

After repeated experiments the writer finds that a duck will 
consume on an average, eight ounces of mash in the morning, and 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 83 

twelve ounces at night. The experiments were made with breeding 
ducks. 

James Rankin says too often the health of the young bird is in- 
jured by the improper feeding of the mother bird during the laying 
season. 

Mrs. J. R. B., Indiana, writes that she finds that medium sized 
eggs, shells entirely free from any lime sticking on outside, gives 
best results in hatching. 

To illustrate how heavy a loss one could endure without failure, 
says John Weber, if one-half of the eggs put in the incubator only 
hatched and only one-half of those hatched lived, there would still 
be enough in it to encourage one to stick to the business without 
taking into account the fertilizing value of the vanquished host. 

Weber Bros, give hard-boiled egg and bread crumbs as the first 
meal to their young ducks. When they have learned to eat they 
are fed on bread crumbs and rolled oats the next four days. After 
that they get the regular food of cornmeal, shorts, flour and beef 
scraps. They are fed five times a day until four weeks old, then 
four times. 

John Weber, in an address before the Ploughman Farmers' 
Meeting, Boston, said if one already owns a farm, $1,000 capital 
would give a good start in the business. Such an amount would 
be sufficient to cover all expenses. Two incubators, a flock of about 
thirty ducks, a house for the breeders, a brooding house and 
heater, feed boards and water fountains, wire fencing, etc. Such a 
plant would keep one man busy, and the future growth of his plant 
could be built on the profits. 

The Weber Bros, feed the laying ducks during the breeding 
season, equal parts of cornmeal, wheat bran, ground oats and flour. 
Ten per cent of beef scraps is added, and thirty per cent of boiled 
turnips and cut clover. They are given all they can eat night and 
morning. At noon they are given about a quart of whole corn to a 
pen. They seem to be very fond of this grain and begin calling for 
it with all their might long before noon. It is scattered up and 
down each yard, and the ducks scramble for it with their usual 
grace. A Pekin duck in a hurry is a comical sight. 

At seven weeks of age, the ducklings should be fattened for 
market and fed only three times a day. Weber Bros, feed 3-4 meal, 
1-4 flour 15 per cent beef scraps, and all the green food they can eat 
once a day. 

James Rankin, in Farm-Poultry, says he never cooks the food 
for ducks after they are a week old, but mixes it up with cold water. 

Weber Bros, bed with saw dust in summer and fall; meadow 
hay in winter. 

Extra large eggs, ill-shaped and porous shelled ones, do not as 
a rule hatch. 

Weber believes in having the best for breeding, it being folly 
to breed small, undersized birds. 

Sand or gravel land, with a slope sufficient to give good drain- 
age, is best for duck culture. 



84 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Weber Bros, allow about eight square feet for each bird, say 40 
ducks to a pen 24x15 feet. 

Contrary to all former notions in regard to duck raising, these 
thousands and tens of thousands of Pekin ducks that are annually 
marketed in New York, Philadelphia and Boston, from New Jersey 
to the coast of Maine, never saw water only in drinking troughs. 
They grow much faster when kept out of the water, and if fed 
properly will average at ten weeks of age, ten pounds per pair. 

In hatching duck eggs in an incubator, keep the ventilator 
slides open at least for the first week. 

A pig is modest and shy at his trough compared with a young 
duck, writes S. I. Hudgens, of Massachusetts. 

Never suddenly change the laying ducks' bill of fare. 

Second grade flour is used in the mash to make it more lumpy. 

A duck is not fully matured until about two and a half years 
old. 

(Henry Steinmesch says the regular laying season commences 
about January 20, and a fair average is four eggs per week, per 
duck, from that time on to June 20, after which they gradually let 
down, stopping entirely towards the last of July. 

There is more labor attached to duck raising than to any other 
branch of poultry culture, but the profits are better when the busi- 
ness is once understood. 

Besides a trough of oyster shells constantly before the ducks, 
they should be supplied with coarse sand or chick-sized grit mixed 
in their mash, once a day. 

The heavy coat of feathers, makes the duck rain, wind and cold 
proof, to a considerable extent, but they suffer very easily from 
cold feet. 

A heavy soil is readily poluted, and should be cleaned and 
ploughed at least once a month. 

Duck eggs over a week old do not hatch so well. 

The older the duck the less nervous she becomes. 

Artificial incubation developed the duck industry. 

Contagious diseases are practically unknown in the duck 
family. 

Cause of mortality among young: Overheat, dampness, get- 
ting wet, lack of grit, grey head lice, sudden showers, delayed 
hatches, exposure to sun, lack of fresh water, drinking vessels too 
shallow, breeding stock out of condition. 

When ducks are overfat they are apt to die during laying 
season. 

A deep keel gives a more plump appearance to the market 
duck. 

Walter P. Laird says washing the eggs has a tendency to 
harden the shell and thereby superinduce too much evaporation, 
thus injuring the vitality of the egg. 

Cayenne and other hot, spicy condiments, must not be given 
to ducks. Cavenne causes ducks to abort their eggs, and if its use 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 85 

is persisted in it will cause inflammation of the egg producing 
organs. 

Duck eggs generally pip 36 to 48 hours before hatching. 

Walking past a flock of ducks with an umbrella hoisted will 
cause a panic. 

The morning feed for grown ducks should be one-half the 
quantity fed at night. 

F. E. Hege says the best matings are one-year-old ducks to 
two-year-old drakes. 

In driving ducks go about it slowly. Excitement makes them 
weak in the legs. 

Neglect will cause a foul stench to the yards, and produce sick- 
ness among the ducks. 

As soon as a duck yard is empty, sow rye or oats in it. There 
is no better disinfectant for the poluted soil. 

Walter P. Laird says that in duck eggs there is ordinarily enough 
moisture to hatch them, but in case the membrane of shell becomes 
tough, and the duckling has difficulty in freeing itself from the shell, 
the moisture pan nearest the lamp should be partly filled with water 
at no degrees. 

A recent issue of the Ploughman says : "Duck raising will pay 
well for the right person, but it will not pay conducted in the care- 
less way in which hens are managed on the average farm. Hens 
will lay some eggs if left to shift for themselves, but ducks will not 
pay a cent unless the owner understands his business and attends 
to it. They are enormous eaters and quickly consume the profits, 
besides being a deal of a nuisance unless grown, managed and sold 
just right." 

F. E. Hege, poultry manager of the North Carolina Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, says : "Ducks have always been reared 
in or near ponds in our state, and the general supposition is that 
water in large quantities is an indispensible adjunct, while the fact 
is that a pond of running water for the old ducks is all that is 
wanted, and even that is not necessary. It is detrimental to the 
young, and they should not be allowed to have more than a plen- 
tiful supply of cool, fresh drinking water, and even that arranged in 
such a way that they can only get in their bills." 

Walter P." Laird, in Practical Poultryman, gives this method of 
dressing ducks for market : "Market stock when ready are killed 
by sticking through the roof of the mouth with the blade of a sharp 
knife, penetrating the brain, well bled and immediately dry-picked. 
After this is thoroughly done they are placed in tubs of clean water 
for a few hours. Before packing, ice is placed in the tubs to plump 
the birds and to free them from all animal heat. After this is done 
they are weighed, tagged and carefully packed in ordinary sugar 
barrels, which make a neat package. Six inches of space is left at 
the top of each barrel which is filled in with ice ; the barrel is then 
nicely covered with a piece of cotton cloth, marked to our dealers, 
and they are ready for the express company. The birds are never 
drawn, and the feet and head are left on." 



36 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Rankin says it pays better to raise ducks than onions. 

Newman claims that the Pekin duck is the largest, matures 
the quickest, has the finest plumage, lays the most eggs, and dresses 
the easiest for market. 

Never approach a pen of ducks at night with a lantern. 

Two year old drakes to young ducks make a good mating. 

Handle ducks by the neck, never by legs or -wings. 

Newman prefers an 8-pound duck and an 8J pound drake for 
breeding. 

When ducks begin laying they generally show a black streak 
on the beak. 

Breeding ducks should be selected at five weeks of age and not 
fattened. 

The most notable growth is between the third and fourth week, 
when the duckling often doubles its weight. 

A duck must have water about its eyes daily, or it will not 
thrive, says H. B. Geer. But if a tank of sufficient depth is pro- 
vided for the ducks to sink their heads in the water clear out of 
sight, then they can do without the pond or stream. When this is 
not done they gum up about the eyes, become listless, sit about, 
don't eat, and soon die. Young ducks that do not have water as 
above suggested, drop off one by one. 

Forty dressed ducklings are packed in a barrel for shipment. 

The duck averages about 10 dozen eggs in about seven months' 
laying. 

According to Rural New-Yorker, for the first four days A. A. 
Skinner, Greene, N. Y., feeds his ducklings four parts of bread to 
one egg, and one-third rolled oats. At the end of four days, about 
five per cent sand is added to the food; and each day following, 
until the end of the first week, the food is gradually changed by sub- 
stituting bran and meal for egg and bread. The sand is given that 
there may be grit in the gizzard before commencing to feed bran, 
which has a course fiber, requiring grit to cut it. After a week he 
gives two parts of wheat bran, one of corn meal, 10 per cent beef 
scrap, and, of course, the five per cent sand should be continued un- 
til the ducks are fattened. Salt is used for flavoring at all times. 
About the time the sand is first given, hue begins feeding green food. 
It is important that, at least, one-third of their food should be 
green stuff. It must be as tender and succulent as possible on the 
start, like clover, green rye or tender grass, cut fine. In winter, 
cabbage, turnips, beets, potatoes or any vegetables, chopped into 
small pieces with a root cutter, or even nice clover hay, cut and 
cooked will do. This green stuff is mixed with the other food in a 
large box, and moistened with water, but not made sloppy. 

The Reliable Poultry Journal says, contrary to general 
opinion, duck eggs do not hatch as well as chicken eggs, not by 
20 or 30 per cent. They are not as fertile, nor are they as strongly 
fertilized. Many duck eggs that are imperfectly fertilized cannot 
stand incubation, the embryo dying during the process of develop- 
ment. On the other hand ducklings are far easier to raise than 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 87' 

chickens, at least this has been the rule thus far, hence the duck 
men, given a good market, have always been able to make more 
money than the broiler man. There are ten successful duck plants 
in operation to-day for every one successful broiler plant, but we 
are confident this will not be so three to five years hence. The 
harder a thing is to do, the better the price, and the fact that ducks 
are easy to raise, are of rapid growth, etc., now threatens to overdo 
the duck business. 

A correspondent in Country Gentleman, writing about the care 
of ducklings, says : "Your brooder must be prepared to receive the 
little beauties, and must have been running at 90 degrees for at 
least a day. Handle them carefully when removing, taking pains 
not to injure their legs or feet, as these are very tender. Keep 
them dark and quiet for at least half a day in the brooder, and then 
coax them to eat. Ducklings are very timid, much more so than 
chicks, and will not bear handling." 

John B. Garber, in Rural World, says he feeds little ducklings 
chiefly on corn bread, such as is used on the table, soaked in sweet 
milk. He feeds five times a day until the young begin to feather, 
when he feeds but three times. 

Don't get the duck brooder hotter than 90 degrees for the start, 
and gradually lower that temperature as the ducklings grow. 

Even James Rankin, who has bred ducks as a business for 40 
years, says he is constantly learning something useful and new. 

Too wet food is apt to cause diarrhoea. A day of looseness of 
the bowels will take as much flesh as can be put on in four days' 
feeding. 

It is estimated that laying Pekin ducks will require from 2-3 
to 3-4 of a quart of food per day for each duck ; or from 66 to 75 
quarts per 100 ducks, giving a little more at night than in the 
morning. 

Mr. Rankin says ducklings should be fed 4 times a day until 
6 weeks old, then 3 times is sufficient. Until 6 weeks of age, they 
should be watered only when fed, after that water also between 
meals. 

One of the largest duck raisers on Long Island uses equal parts 
of cornmeal, .wheat bran and a No. 2 grade of flour, and thinks 
cracker crumbs and boiled eggs are not necessary. He uses about 
10 per cent sand. 

The American Cultivator, in the market duck's life of 10 weeks, 
advises for last 2 weeks to feed only morning, noon and night, but 
for first 8 weeks the feeding hours should be 6 and 10 o'clock morn- 
ing, 2 and 6 o'clock afternoon. 

A reporter of the American Poultry Journal was told by the 
manager of Chatham Fields plant, that the cost of feed for a duck 
for 10 weeks is 25 cents. Labor and expenses are about the same, 
making the total cost 50 cents per duckling. 

When ducklings are intended for breeding purposes, the 
American Cultivator says after the first week the use of equal parts 



88 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

by bulk of wheat bran, cornmeal and green food, with 5 per cent 
beef scraps, and 2 per cent coarse sand, will keep them growing. 

The American Cultivator recommends this mixture for laying 
ducks; 50 per cent (by measure) of cornmeal, 15 per cent wheat 
bran, 15 per cent green food (which in winter must be cooked vege- 
tables, such as potatoes, turnips, beets, etc)., 12 per cent beef 
scraps, and 8 per cent coarse sand or grit, by measure, not weight. 
Mix with water to a dry crumbly condition, and feed twice a day, 
morning and night. After they have stopped laying go back to 
the ration of equal parts wheat bran and cornmeal, unless it is de- 
sired to fatten them, and do not increase the cornmeal until laying 
time has nearly come round again. 

James Rankin, in Reliable Poultry Journal, says the first food 
he gives ducklings consists of bread or cracker crumbs slightly 
moistened, and about 10 per cent of hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, 
shell and all. To this is mixed 5 per cent of coarse sand. Scatter 
this food on a board, place the ducklings on it, and they will be 
busily eating in about 10 minutes. After the 2d day rolled oats and 
bran can be safely used at 10 days old. Also at this age feed 1-4 
meal, the rest wheat bran with a little rolled oats mixed in (not 
forgetting the grit), about 10 per cent good beef scraps or other 
animal food, and a little green food as above. At 6 weeks old feed 
equal parts bran and cornmeal with a little Quaker Oats, also grit 
and beef scraps. At 8 weeks old; 1 part bran, 3 parts cornmeal, 
to fatten them, with the grit and beef scraps, but not any green 
stuff. 

Abdormal liver kills many ducks annually. 

Geo. H. Pollard, in an instructive article in the Reliable Poul- 
try Journal, says : "How many eggs a duck will lay is an open 
question. Some of the most prominent breeders claim as high as 
140 to 165 eggs from each duck in a season ; and they also claim 
that with fair success one should raise 100 young from each breed- 
ing duck. Our record is not complete, and we know of none that 
is where there is a large flock. We believe, however, that the aver- 
age total egg yield will prove to be nearer 100 eggs per year, than 
the higher numbers mentioned. As to the total number of young 
raised from the eggs laid by each duck, we dislike to hazard an esti- 
mate. We may say, however, that we would not place it higher 
than 25 on an average from large flocks. These figures may oc- 
casionally be exceeded by small flocks, and, perhaps, in an excep- 
tionally favorable season, by a large flock, but we believe it is as 
liberal an estimate as can safely be figured at the present stage of 
duck culture." 

James Rankin says if any one fails in the duck business it must 
be through his own incompetency and neglect. 
Better keep the ducks a little hungry. 
Keep the early ducklings for breeding. 
An uncomfortable duckling cannot grow. 
Do not feed more than will be eaten up clean. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 89 

James Rankin says of duck culture: Independent of the ele- 
ments, affected neither by floods nor draught, heat nor cold, a con- 
centrated cash product turned every three months — it makes the 
best of any crop on the farm. 

In young ducklings, says Mr. Pollard, in Reliable Poultry Jour- 
nal, overheating causes leg weakness, giddy, whirling spells and 
spasms — and ends in the bird throwing itself on its side and dying. 
While shade is an absolutely necessity, they must also have a chance 
to get as much sun as they require. They will suit themselves ac- 
cording to their needs when sufficient opportunity is provided. 

Referring to hatching duck eggs, James Rankin, in "Artificial 
Incubating and Brooding," says : "See that the heat in the egg 
chamber is uniform. Use accurate glasses, and place them on the 
eggs in the centre of the egg chamber. Run them at 102 degrees 
the first two weeks, and 103 after the animal heat begins to rise. 
The eggs should be cooled a little once each day after the first week, 
and longer after the animal heat rises. A little moisture should be 
used after the 18th day, ventilating a little more towards the end 
of the hatch." 

Geo. H. Pollard, in "Artificial Incubating and Brooding," says : 
"When the eggs begin to hatch let them strictly alone. Do not try 
to turn the pipped sides up, and, above all, do not open the machine 
every few hours to see how they are getting along, or to show in- 
quisitive friends how cunning the little dears look coming out of the 
shells. After the hatch is fairly well over, and the ducklings nearly 
or quite dried off, open the machine and quickly take out a tray 
and cover with a thin woolen cloth. Look the eggs over carefully, 
and if any are discovered cast in the shell, or with head lightly 
caught, break away enough of the shell to allow the little bird some 
freedom of movement and return the tray. Frequently these birds 
will break through and prove as lively as those earlier hatched. Do 
not, however, help too much. There is always a percentage of ill- 
hatched chicks that live only long enough to count one hatched,, 
and then die with their duty fully done." 

James Rankin, in the Feather, says : "The amateur can de- 
pend on one thing, and that is, that a well-bred Pekin duck is under 
perfect control, and if she does not promptly respond to generous 
feed, care and "treatment, there is something wrong about it. I have 
never found it to fail in an experience of nearly 40 years." 

Geo. H. Pollard says eggs that produce 65 to 8b per cent, of 
strong fertility, according to the season, are good ; 70 to 75 per cent, 
is excellent. 

The brooding pen should be 7x10, including the hover; the 
hover, 2x7 feet. The floor should be earth with about an inch of 
good bedding on it. 

Too much moisture is as dangerous in hatching duck eggs as 
it is with hen eggs. 

Rankin says, in hatching duck eggs, it is always best to intro- 
duce a little moisture just before the hatch. 



90 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Hallock does not allow his young ducklings (up to two or three 
weeks old) outdoors so long as they are in the regular brooding 
house. 

Eggs for hatching should be kept as near 60 degrees of tem- 
perature as possible. 

Duck manure ranks next to hog manure for gardening. 

For 50 birds (being grown for market) the yard room should 
be about 3(3x50 feet. 

Fertility and vitality are the keynotes of success. 

A. J. Hallock, in "Artificial Incubating and Brooding," says : 
'"It is absolutely essential to success to keep the ducklings warm 
and comfortable, and their quarters clean. Ducklings that are not 
kept warm enough can not grow and have a thrifty, healthy appear- 
ance ; they will be far from it. They will have — we will call it rheu- 
matism — for want of a better name. The symptoms are : The 
beaks get very pale and soft and grow faster than the ducks. They 
stand around in a listless manner with backs humped up, and the 
down standing out straight. The feet and legs get colorless and 
stiff, and in severe cases they lose control of them entirely. When 
in this condition the cheapest and quickest cure is a good sharp 
hatchet applied to the neck. When they have not had sufficient grit 
and have indigestion they will show some of these symptoms, but 
not all of them. In fact, a duckling's down will stand up when it 
is not perfectly well and happy. On the other hand, they must not 
be kept too warm. The extremes are to be avoided. We can 
have no 'cast iron rules.' It is necessary to exercise a little judg- 
ment. With a bit of close observation any one can soon tell at a 
glance whether everything is right with the ducklings." 

Never overfeed. It is an easy thing to tell when ducks are 
not hungry ; they are slow about coming for their feed. When this 
is noticed put but little feed down for them, says G. A. McFetridge 
When ducks are hungry they will remind one of so many pigs. 
They will run for their feed and tumble heels over head ; then they 
will clean up their regular allowance. 

The market carcass should be fat, plump and round. 

The duck -in good health is always hungry. 

In duck culture labor is an important item. 

The skin of the market duck should be one color throughout. 

One way of making money out of ducks is to have a lot ready 
to sell when the season opens. 

The great secret of fattening ducklings is to be early, and this 
can only be attained by keeping the stock ducks young, says Geo. 
A. Palmer. Even as in fowl we get the winter eggs from the pul- 
lets, so ducks of the first year will commence laying long before the 
older ones. We find in practice that it does not answer to keep 
stock ducks more than two years. They should be hatched in 
March, and kept after the first few weeks at liberty, as the object 
here is to build up frame and constitution. It is never wise to 
breed from young immature stock on both sides, and the finest 
young will be produced by mating the one-year-old ducks to a two- 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



9* 




92 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

year-old drake ; yet to insure fertility, it is sometimes necessary to 
use a drake of the first year for the early months. 

G. A. McFetridge gives this method of fattening: If the trade 
calls for yellow skin use yellow corn ; if a white skin is more sale- 
able use white corn. A very good feed is composed of one-third 
cornmeal, one-third middlings, one-third bran. A feed composed 
of the above will make more muscle and require more time to fatten 
than when more cornmeal is used. If the demand is for fat, which 
is the case in New York market, then use one-third cornmeal, one- 
fourth middlings and one-fourth bran, and about one-eighth beef 
scraps. Do not use much green stuff while fattening; not more than 
one-eighth part, as the skin will be affected by the color of the feed. 
When ducks are put up for fattening, feed light for the first five 
days, then commence to increase their feed a little each time. You 
will find that they will eat until they will be unable to swallow the 
last mouthful, yet they run to the water with that mouthful and 
mix it with the water and try to drink it. This is the cause of filthy 
water troughs. It will be necessary to scrub them every day. If 
this is neglected and the ducks drink from their filthy troughs it 
will taint their flesh. 

Most of the trade for ducks come through the restaurants and 
mountain house and shore resorts, and in these places they generally 
serve the duck in quarters, that is, cut into four pieces, so you can 
easily see that a duck that weighs 4 or 5 lbs. will bring just as much 
money, so served, as one weighing 6 or 7 lbs. 

E. O. Roessle says : The shells of duck eggs being thicker 
than those of hens, they require more air; hence it is frequently 
necessary to run the machines with slides wide open, and also to 
give the trays plenty of cooling by taking them out of the machines 
and placing them on top, letting the thermometer run down to not 
lower than 85 degrees. 

Col. Roessle says: "I believe that it benefits ducklings quite 
as much as chicks to let them remain in the bottom of the machine 
at least 36 hours after they are all hatched. When you wish to re- 
move them, after this time, it is better not to handle them, but 
place a basket, lined with flannel, close up to the door of the ma- 
chine ; they will scamper into it as soon as the door is dropped." 

A young duck will sometimes choke if it has no water to drink 
when eating. The water must be deep enough to allow the duck- 
ling to get its head and bill down into the vessel, says Mirror and 
Farmer, as with each mouthful it cleans the bill. This is the reason 
ducklings appear to throw water all over the floor. They are 
simply cleaning their bills, which prevents clogging of the nostrils, 
and permits them to breathe. They should have no water to swim 
in, but water is a necessity with them when feeding, as they wash 
down the greater portion of the food eaten, some of them apparently 
not swallowing the food at all. 

Col. Roessle, in Country Gentleman, says : "I consider the 
ducklings first requisite is water to drink. If they do not find it 
readily it will pay to dip their bills in it. As for food, after exper- 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 93 

imenting with many kinds, I have decided that the best is a mixture 
of cornmeal and wheat bran from first to last, in different propor- 
tions, according to age. The first feed should be equal parts of the 
above with a liberal allowance of course builders' sand thrown in 
and all mixed thoroughly with water, the temperature of the house 
and not as cold as ice. This should be fed about five times a day, 
but only as much as they will eat up clean, and when they are 
actually hungry. If they do not come up to the board with a rush 
and eat ravenously, then wait a longer time for the next feed. Or, 
in other words, never under any circumstances overfeed; it is bet- 
ter to feed them short." 

Geo. A. Palmer, in Poultry (English) gives the method of fat- 
tening in his country : Ducklings will fatten much quicker and bet- 
ter in wire frames than at liberty, and on no account should they 
"be allowed water enough to swim in. The wire frames are 3 feet 
high and 12 feet square, and can be moved daily on to fresh clean 
grass. The feed should be well varied. Bone meal is an essential 
■and may be mixed with sharps. Barleymeal and milk, cooked 
wheat, groats and rice will give th?m an excellent start, and green 
food should not be forgotten. Chopped dandelion, onion, lettuce, 
may be mixed with soft food, and a fair proportion of meat may be 
given. Greaves broken up fine and mixed with boiling water will 
answer very well. When cheapness of production is considered be- 
fore quality of meal, maize may be used freely at the latter end of 
the 8 or 9 weeks. In any case feed chiefly upon the lighter foods at 
first, and get on to stronger toward the close, finishing chiefly upon 
barleymeal and maize. Wheat may be given chiefly as the hard 
grain, and a little buckwheat and hemp seed will prove useful addi- 
tions. But remember that milk, when obtainable, will give a great 
return; that grit is required just as much for duckling as for 
chicken ; that bonemeal has no substitute ; that the feeds should be 
■ often, early and late, with clean drinking water before them, and 
there will be no difficulty in getting the ducks off in the first 
•feather, and, what is of more importance, at a profit. 

Col. E. O. Roessle, in Country Gentleman, says : "Many ex- 
periments have been made in feeding ducklings. I have tried many 
different methods myself, but there is one on which I have settled 
that has given me the best results. It is simply cornmeal and bran 
from start to finish, from hatch to killing time. The proportions of 
course are changed as the duckling grows. The meal and bran 
:should be made into a moist mash, not sloppy, but more moist than 
is used for chickens. A feed board should be used, rather than 
risking the chance of their trampling the food in the earth. To 
every mess of mash made, a certain proportion of coarse black or 
builders' sand should be added. For example, to a 12-quart pailful 
of mash add a half-pint cupful of sand; stir it well into the mash, 
•so that it is mixed thoroughly ." 

Feed with a strong smell or taste, such as fish or meat, will 
more or less lend its taint to the flesh of the duckling. 



94 Money m Broilers and Sqnabs. 

For birds that dress from 12 to 14 lbs. there is some family 
trade, yet the bulk of the trade does not care for them. 

Duck egg shells are very thick ; therefore, are more slowly af- 
fected by heat or cold. They retain the heat even better than hen's 
eggs, and it consequently is more difficult to cool them. 

To make market ducks pay they must be fed largely on cheap r 
bulky food like chopped green corn, cut grass and clover, chopped 
vegetables mixed with grain, and the like, also wheat bran and meat 
scraps. 

In selecting stock for breeding, size of frame, length of body 
and general activity should be sought for. Without size of body 
we cannot expect to obtain large ducklings, and the larger they are 
the better prices they will command. 

As the development of the air cell is the all important part in 
artificial hatching, and as air increases the air cell and moisture re- 
tards it, duck's eggs require much more air than hen's eggs, when 
the moisture and other conditions are equal. 

E. O. Roessle says early ducklings are quite as much in de- 
mand as early broilers, the prices are quite as good, and the expense 
of raising decidedly less. 

The Country Gentleman says there are many breeders now 
marketing over 20,000 green ducklings annually, and even at an 
average of a dollar — it is a nice, tidy business, with plenty of profit 
at these figures. 

The common way of fattening ducks would be to cut off the 
bran at eight weeks, says George H. Pollard, in American Agricul- 
turist. He does not change the food from the time he begins to 
give them equal parts of bran and meal right up to the killing time, 
and so does not have the bother of getting the separate foods 
mixed. Green food is not given at all to the young ducks, unless 
they are intended for breeders, and then they are given only a 
moderate amount of green food. Quicker growth is obtained with 
beef scraps than with green food. 

There is quite a demand for live ducks in all large cities, says 
the American Agriculturist. The Jewish population will not buy 
dead fowls of any kind. It is a part of their religion that the poul- 
try should be killed by a rabbi. This makes a good market for 
many birds that would otherwise be worthless. The Chinese also 
buy quite a good many and pay very good prices. They perhaps 
consume quite as many as the Jewish trade. The Chinese and 
Jewish trade do not seem to be particular about quality, and a good 
many people ship to them the lame, halt and blind, and in that way 
are enabled to get rid of ducks that they otherwise could not dis- 
pose of. 

A cold and wet duckling is apt to go into spasms. 

Leg weakness in ducklings is caused by damp quarters at night. 

Cold and wet, overfeeding and lice, are the troubles of duck- 
lings. 

In feeding ducks cabbage, Waldo F. Brown says he holds the 
plant in his left hand, head downward, and slashes it in slices with 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 95 

a corn cutter. He says he can cut a head fine in less time than it 
takes to write this sentence. Unmerchantable heads, those that 
burst, and loose heads, are just as good for the poultry as any, and 
if cabbage is grown for market there will be enough of these to feed 
a large number of fowls. 

To meet with the best success, the duck business should be 
conducted by artificial methods, as hens will not sit in time to com- 
mand the high Spring prices. 

Ducks that have had very little beef scraps will pick very nicely 
at 12 or 13 weeks; when fed beef scraps the pin feathers start quite 
freely at 10 or 11 weeks. 

The first essential is to start with good breeding stock. Birds 
that have been inbred until their constitutions are completely de- 
bilitated are in no condition for reproducti->^ 

All breeds of ducks have a disposition to wander more than 
chickens, but the Pekin as the most domesticated of ducks, lacks 
disposition to explore and ravage, says Chas. H. Long, in Poultry 
Herald. 

In the South only 3 cents apiece is paid for picking, while in 
the North from 6 to 8 cents in the charge. 

Too often the health of the young bird is injured by the im- 
proper feeding of the mother bird during the laying season. 

White duck feathers sell for 37 to 39 cents per pound ; colored 
ones 17 to 23 cents. 

After a duck gets its age, it is rather deceptive as to weight, 
as it is then solid and fat. 

Cramps occur generally from cold water. 

Overfat ducks are easy prey to apoplexy. 

Mr. Pollard says one great drawback with ducks is that the 
shrinkage is so great as compared with other poultry that it seems 
a high-priced meat. 

W. H. Pye, at Eastport, uses 400 to 500 hens for hatching, and 
uses incubators only when there are no more hens available. 

Changes in the bill of fare of the ducks do more to upset the 
fertility of the eggs than any neglect in providing the essentials. 

Duck eggs should never be kept longer than six days, as their 
fertility is an easy victim to age, and the eggs are apt to smell as 
soon as they are entrusted to the machine. 

Green ducks are shipped with heads on and undrawn. They are 
picked down one-half of the neck and to the first wing joint. 

A dry picked bird holds its color better than one that is 
scalded. 

Green food should compose nearly one-fourth of the whole 
ration for breeding stock. 

Bad eggs in the machine affect the others 

The duck business requires skill, practice and study. 

A duck can stand poor shelter better than any other fowl. 

A dry house and plenty of bedding is the duck's idea of a 
comfortable home. 



g6 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

A good way to feed green food is to cast it in the drinking 
water ; the ducks love to fish it out. 

If the breeding stock has been selected for the brightness of 
their eyes, for the roundness of their orbs, and for stamina and 
muscle power in preference to size, weight and sluggishness, they 
cannot help but give good results. 

The main trouble with beginners is that they insist in too close- 
ly confining their ducks over night, thereby causing them to feel 
uncomfortably warm, says Theo. F. Jager, and as this in conducive 
to start them molting, and as a molt will in each and every case 
cause a drop in the receipts of the eggs as well as in their fertility, 
it is easily seen why we should keep the birds from feeling too 
warm at night. 

To show the importance of purity in food, an experience of A. 
J. Hallock is worth quoting: At one time a lot of ducks were sick, 
and off their feed; they were dying, and no cause could be dis- 
covered. All the ingredients of the soft food were thoroughly exam- 
ined, and found to be all right, and it was a mystery as to the 
source of the trouble. Finally, one day the feeder happened to 
catch the odor from the sand they were using, and found that it 
was very foul ; it had been dug out of the bottom of the creek near 
where the ducks had run, and was supposed to be all right, but it 
proved that the leachings from the duck yards had flown down over 
it, and rendered it impure, and this resulted in the trouble men- 
tioned. The throwing out of this, and the substitution of perfectly 
clean, pure sand, remedied the difficulty. 

James Rankin, in Farm and Home, gives this method of feeding: 
"For breeding birds, old or young, during the Fall, feed three parts 
wheat bran, one part crushed oat feed, one part cornmeal, five per 
cent., beef scraps, five per cent, grit, and all the green food they will 
eat in the shape of corn fodder cut fine, clover or oat fodder. Feed 
this mixture twice a day, all they will eat. For laying birds equal 
parts of wheat bran and cornmeal, twenty per cent, crushed oat feed, 
io per cent, boiled potatoes and turnips, fifteen per cent, clover 
rowen, green rye or refuse cabbage chopped fine, five per cent. grit. 
Feed twice a day all they will eat, with a lunch of corn and oats at 
noon. Keep grit and oyster shells constantly by them. I never 
cook food for ducks after they are a week old, but mix it with cold 
water." 



In 1897, Prof. Samuel Cushman gave Rural New-Yorker a very 
interesting and valuable report of the duck farm owned and operated 
by George Pollard, of Pawtucket, R. I. We make the following ex- 
tracts : 

Mr. Pollard estimates that he gets about 50 ducks from every 
100 eggs put in the. machines, not counting the first two and last 
two hatches, which do not usually turn out so well. Of the early 
lots of eggs, sometimes 50 per cent are fertile and of these about 5c 
or 60 per cent hatch. He runs the machines at 102 degrees, and 
says "of course they vary some, but if the stock is good and the 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 97 

germs strong, the fertile eggs will hatch if the temperature is any- 
where near right/' 

The eggs are tested on the fifth day, and the infertile ones are 
sold to cheap markets and to peddlers who supply bakers and 
restaurants, at the usual price received for ducks' eggs, or about five 
cents more per dozen than hens' eggs. His egg tester consists of a 
lamp inside of a box, in the front of which is a hole several inches 
in diameter covered with rubber cloth, in which is an egg-shaped 
opening somewhat smaller than the eggs to be tested. Inside the 
box, back of the lamp, is fastened an ordinary lantern reflector, to 
concentrate the rays of the lamp on the egg. The tester is well 
braced and firmly placed, so that the operator can lean against it 
without stirring it. He does not put pans of water in the machines 
to make the air moist, until the ducklings pip the shells, then but 
oae pan is placed in each machine. As soon as the ducklings dry off 
and can stand, they are taken out of the egg trays and put in the 
bottom of the machine, where they are left from 24 to 36 hours 
without food or water. Then they are put out in the brooder house 
tinder the hot water pipe brooders and are fed and watered imme- 
diately. They are given a mixture consisting of bran, two-thirds 
and corn meal one-third, and this is not cooked or scalded, but is 
mixed with cold water or skim-milk. He finds that the ducklings 
do just as well on uncooked food, and that it is unnecessary work to 
cook it. According to his experience green stuff is not necessary 
in raising green ducks that are to be killed for market while young. 
His young ducks were not fed green stuff the past season. Bran 
answers his purpose just as well. When asked whether green 
crops that furnished both carbonaceous and nitrogenous matter 
would not have lessened his grain bill, he remarked that grain had 
been so cheap the past season that he did not think that it would, 
besides the flesh of the young ducks would have been softer. His 
ducks, the marketmen say, are firmer and stand up better than 
others that are fed differently. 

The above mixture is fed for the first four days, after which 
they are given a mixture consisting of equal parts of corn meal and 
bran, and seven or eight per cent of beef scraps. After this, the 
per cent of beef scraps is gradually increased. At three weeks of 
age, their food contains 15 per cent of beef scraps. This mixture 
is fed up to the time they are killed. He does not leave off the bran, 
as some do to make them get extra fat, before they are killed, be- 
cause he finds that they do not do as well with him. Leaving off the 
bran stops their eating. It might work with green food, but does 
not work without it. Feeding green food makes the ducks yellow, 
and they sell for less. White-skinned ducks and geese are de- 
manded. 

The green ducks are usually killed when eight weeks old, when 
they weigh about nine pounds per pair. Sometimes they are as 
beavy as 10 pounds per pair at that age. At 10 weeks, they average 
about 11 pounds per pair, and range from 9 to 14 pounds per pair. 
They are usually selected and killed when "fit," although the num- 



98 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

ber killed depends upon the market price and the demand. Mr. 
Pollard keeps one picker who does nothing - during- the season but 
kill and pick ducks and fowls. This man will kill and prepare for 
market 57 young ducks in eight hours. 

The ducks to be killed are confined in two coops in a room ad- 
joining the picking place, to which access is had through hinged 
doors opening into the picking room. The ducks are thus shut up 
out of sight, and are much quieter than if confined in sight of the 
killing operations. As these doors opening into the pens are about 
shoulder high, the picker can reach in and select one without stoop- 
ing and with very little disturbance of the rest. The ducks are stuck 
or bled by opening the bill and making a cross cut in the back of the 
throat on the inside, so that no wound shows, on the outside. This 
severs the large arteries and pierces the brain and causes relaxation 
of the skin and muscles. Immediately after, they are struck on the 
head with a club, then held over a galvanized iron pail to catch most 
of the blood, and immediately picked. The picker sits in a chair 
drawn up alongside a box which is about as high as his knees, into 
which the feathers are placed. He lays the duck across his lap and 
holds its head between his knee and the box to prevent its flutter- 
ing, and that the blood that escapes may go on the floor instead of 
on to the feathers. As he removes the feathers, the picker fre- 
quently dips his hand or fingers into a dish of water which is always 
within reach. This causes the feathers to stick to his hand, and 
enables him to remove them more rapidly and with much less exer- 
tion. In removing the pin feathers, they are caught between the 
blade of a knife held in the hand and the thumb. In this work, the 
pin feathers are thoroughly wet that they may stick to the thumb 
and be more easily grasped and plucked. The neck, head and wings 
are not plucked; the feathers are left on and a string is tied around 
the body of the bird to bind the wings close to the body. They are 
never drawn except for private customers. Immediately after they 
are dressed, they are placed in a barrel or tank of ice water to re- 
move the animal heat, and to shrink the flesh or make them more 
plump or compact. Here they are kept until they are shipped to 
market. When sent to New York City, they are packed in ice, but 
this is not necessary in sending them to Boston and near-by points. 
Mr. Pollard sends green ducks to market from May I to about 
November, 15, when the last are slaughtered. He supplies the mar- 
kets in Providence, Pawtucket and vicinity, and sells many ducks 
direct to the consumers, but the bulk of his product goes to the 
dealers in the large cities. Green ducks bring the highest price 
about May I ; from then until July, the price gradually falls. From 
July to September, the price remains unchanged, but after Septem- 
ber 1 again rises and, in October, ducks that it has cost less to raise 
than the early ones, again bring good prices. In November, west- 
ern ducks are sent to market, in great numbers, and the price then 
goes very low. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 99 

Prof. Cushman, in American Agriculturist, gives these facts 
concerning James Rankin's ranch: 

The laying ducks were quartered in double-pitched-roof 
houses about 16 feet wide and of different lengths. One is 200 feet 
long and others 120, 70 and 60 feet. Three are 30 feet in length and 
several 11 feet square. They are made of cheap hemlock lumber 
and covered with standard roofing. The material for one building 
120 by 16 feet cost about $100. The interior of this house is divided 
into pens 12 by 18 feet, with an aisle along the back wide enough 
for the passage of an attendant with a wheelbarrow. There are 
three or four sliding half windows in the front of each pen. The 
indoor partitions are about two feet high. The pens are bedded 
with meadow hay, and 30 ducks and 6 drakes are quartered in each, 
A yard 100 feet long and as wide as the pens, made of 30 inch net- 
ting, is connected with each. The ducks have access to these both 
day and night in the summer and during the day, after they have 
laid, in winter. 

When feeding them in winter, the food troughs are placed in 
the pens near the walk, so as to be reached from the walk, also a 
box of coarse sand and of crushed oyster shells. Prepared grit is 
mixed with all soft food. Low nests are arranged along the aisles 
and the eggs are collected from the walk. These are well bedded 
with hay, and 90 per cent, of the eggs are clean enough to be used 
without being washed, an important item. 

The laying ducks are removed from their winter quarters about 
August 1, and the yards are sown with rye, to purify the land and 
to furnish green feed. The birds are pastured on green sward during 
the summer. They are removed to a fresh place frequently and 
these plots are readily distinguished the next season by the dark 
green color and rank growth of the grass which covers them. 
Young ducks intended for breeders are also pastured out in this 
way and both are fed lightly through the summer. Their food is 
composed largely of bran, with but a very slight proportion of corn 
meal and mixed into a soft mess, and is given morning and evening. 
They are fed lightly, because they should forage. 

When housed, about November 15, Mr. Rankin gives them 
twice a day a soft food made of equal parts corn meal, wheat bran 
and Quaker oat feed, and 12 or 15 per cent beef scraps. To this is 
added one-fourth part cooked vegetables, like small potatoes, tur- 
nips, etc. They are also given all the green rye and refuse cabbage 
they will eat. A little whole corn is given them at noon but no more 
food at one time than they can eat up clean. He finds that under 
such management they lay in about three weeks after being housed. 
(A young duck can easily be made to lay at five months, old, if de- 
sired.) At first the fertility of the eggs is low, but soon becomes 
high. The average yield of a flock, counting ducks and drakes, will 
be over 100 eggs per head per year, a high average for one duck 
being 150 eggs in one season. 

LofC. 



ioo Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

About three-fourths of those who take up artificial duck raising 
make a failure of it because they are not suited to the business. It 
requires intense application and constant supervision. All hands 
must be up early and work early and late. Most people are unwill- 
ing to put in the 16 to 17 hours required during the long summer 
days. 
\ ————— 

We will conclude the duck chapter by making selections from a 
lengthy article by Prof. Cushman, and which appeared, in 1897, in 
the Cultivator and Country Gentleman. The article in question is 
full of encouragement, as it plainly tells the story of how James 
Rankin, and the Weber Bros., gradually built up a profitable busi- 
ness. 

"Thirty or forty years ago, when James Rankin, the pioneer 
in raising ducks by artificial means, was working out his present 
system of production, he was a butt for the ridicule of the com- 
munity in which he lived. Although disappointing failures, at- 
tended with much loss, were frequently met with, he persevered in 
spite of discouragement and at last won victory. By experimenting 
with different breeds, kinds of food and methods of management, 
he was enabled, by artificial means, to cause ducks to reproduce 
when all nature was against it, and therefore realize an immense 
profit when the product was placed on the market. 

"When Mr. Rankin published accounts of his operations, how 
he could by artificial means produce ducks at a cost for food of 
about 5 cents per pound, put them on to the market long before 
naturally reared ducks were ready, and get 40 cents per pound for 
them, much interest was aroused, but there was skepticism in the 
minds of many in regard to the practicability of raising any kini. 
of poultry in such large numbers. Others, who did not question the 
facts as given, were sure that the market would soon be overdone 
and the price drop to where there would be little profit in the busi- 
ness. But what are the facts? In 1876, when Mr. Rankin first had 
large numbers for market, no one wanted ducks. For five years he 
had to visit dealers and drum up trade. Meanwhile the public taste 
was educated to appreciate roast ducklings at ten weeks, and they 
soon became popular in market. When Mr. Rankin produced but 
1500 yearly, they were hard to sell, but later, though he raised 10,- 
000 each season, he could not fill his orders. Fifteen years ago early 
ducks brought him 45 cents per pound and late ones not less than 
16 cents, and then grain was very high. Now with cheap grain and 
scores of large duck ranches in various parts of the country turning 
out thousands annually, the price for the same quality is little or no 
lower. 

"Duck-raising was carried on extensively on Long-Island long 
before Mr. Rankin's product was put on the New- York market, but 
his artificial incubators enabled him to produce his ducks earlier, 
lead the market, and thus get the highest price. Even after the 
Long-Island raisers had adopted the artificial methods of raising, 
Mr. Rankin's inland grown scrap-fed ducks were preferred, and he 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



IOI 




Plate 12. — DRESSING SQUABS FOR MARKET. 



102 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

received 20 to 22 cents per pound when the island ducks brought 
but 16 to 18 cents. The reason was that the latter were fed much 
fish, which gave their flesh a strong flavor, and the best trade 
would not touch them. Long-Island raisers were obliged to give 
up feeding fish and guarantee their ducks not fish-fed in order to 
secure the same price for the same quality of goods. 

At first, Mr. Rankin made blunder after blunder and contended 
with all sorts of difficulties, because he had little idea of the syste- 
matic care and regular feeding required to insure against loss and 
enable young birds to attain a weight in a few weeks that he sup- 
posed required as many months. Although those who attempt to 
follow in his footsteps have the benefit of his experience, he says 
about three-fourths make a failure of it. This is because they are 
not suited to it, will not give the constant attention required, or 
work 14 to 16 hours every day during the season. 

"Quite a number of Mr. Rankin's successful disciples have gone 
into the business even more extensively than he, and are being re- 
warded accordingly. A notable example is the case of the Weber 
Bros., of Norfolk County, Mass., just south of Boston. 

"Mr. Weber, the father, a German who had worked with his 
sons in a leather factory ever since he came to this country, was 
tempted to leave the factory and take his family out into the coun- 
try and try farming. He was familiar with farming in Germany, 
where scientific methods are more generally followed than here, 
and thought he might be able to do well on the farm. A suitable 
place was selected, partly paid for and farming undertaken. The 
family— father, four sons and two daughters — were strong and 
hardy, and worked early and late, but found they barely made a 
living. They cultivated various crops and kept 18 cows, but could 
not more than pay their expenses, to say nothing of paying the 
balance due for the farm. It was so hard to get any money for what 
was produced that after farming for six years they felt obliged to 
look for some other source of income. Hearing of Mr. Rankin's 
profits in producing large quantities of chickens and ducks, they, in 
1888, visited him, learned his ideas and at first tried chickens. They 
bought of him 300 eggs, hatched 180 chickens, nearly all of which 
were raised, and were sold in May for $1.25 each. As one of the 
Webers said, the amount received was more money than they had 
taken at one time since they had been on the farm. This encouraged 
them, and duck raising was commenced. In 1889 they raised 800 
chickens and 500 ducks. In 1890, when they were $3000 in debt, 
they bought two 600 egg incubators, and from 40 breeding ducks 
hatched 3000 ducklings. From 200 to 300 chickens were also raised. 
That year they marketed 2800 young ducks. By doing all the work 
themselves — the father and three sons — they cleared $1800 that 
season. When they were killing and shipping two barrels of ducks 
per day, they received $120 per shipment. 

"In 1891, 150 breeding ducks were kept, six 600-egg incu- 
bators used, 4000 ducklings hatched and 800 chickens, and only 
about 3000 marketed and $2000 cleared ; this season the price of grain 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 103 

was high. In 1892, 280 breeding ducks were kept, ten 600-egg in- 
cubators used, 6000 ducks marketed, and $2000 cleared. In 1893, 
350 breeding ducks were kept, ten 600-egg machines used, 6000 
ducks marketed, and $2000 cleared. 

"In 1894, with the same number of breeding' ducks and ma- 
chines, 8000 ducklings were hatched 7000 marketed and nearly $3000 
:leared. In 1895, from 500 breeders, and 14 machines, 9500 ducklings 
were marketed and $4000 cleared. Last season from 500 breeders 
and 18 machines, 21,000 ducklings were hatched 19,000 sold and be- 
tween $7000 to $8000 secured. 

"They have paid for the place, built a new dwelling house, and 
.spent $2000 on buildings and other improvenyents. Their farm now 
represents an investment of $20,000, and they are free from debt. 

"During the height of this season they feed 14 tons of grain 
per week. The requirements of 500 breeding ducks are five bushels 
•of grain and one barrel of turnips per day, beside green food. 

"They do not cook the feed, but mix it with the hot cooked 
vegetables, so it is thoroughly warmed. They use a 60-gallon and 
a 30-gallon set kettle for boiling vegetables and heating water. The 
feeding is done throughout the season by two men with the assis- 
tance of two boys. In all 14 persons are employed on the place from 
May until September. 

"The farming now done is mostly the raising of vegetables and 
green crops for the ducks. The quantity of manure produced is 
much greater than when 18 cows were kept, and the land, once 
quite poor, now grows great crops. Where ducks are yarded, the 
manure must be scraped off and removed, and rye or some other 
crop grown each season to purify the land. They raise 500 bushels 
turnips, the variety preferred being the yellow Swedish turnip, and 
100 bushels carrots, as well as the rye and corn fodder. They use 
200 head of cabbage during the season. 

"As it is the early ducks that pay the best they aim to secure 
fertile eggs, having strong germs, early in the winter, and do excel 
in this respect. 

"The old ducks do Hot usually lay much before February; so 
young ducks are depended upon for early market production, the 
-mature old birds being used in the production of breeding stock. 
While they are able to induce their young ducks to lay as early as 
they wish, they cannot persuade the drakes to fulfill their part of 
the programme much before New Year ; therefore young ducks are 
not encouraged to lay much before that time. They prefer for 
breeders, ducks that weigh eight pounds and drakes that weigh 
twelve pounds when mature. A thirteen-pound drake is too heavy. 
They are selected in July from the April-hatched birds and only 
from those that were raised from mature stock, yearlings or two 
year-olds. They are chosen for depth of keel, size, weight and 
-plumpness. They are then put in large yards, where they have ac- 
cess to grass pasturage and have much freedom and are fed more 
•growing food than is given those that are to be fatted for market. 
This consists of equal parts of shorts, gluten feed and ground oats. 



104 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

to which is added five per cent, of beef scraps, and it is given them 
twice daily. At this time they are also mated just as they are to be 
bred the following season. Beginners usually mate ducks too late 
in the season; it should always be done by November I, to insure 
best results. 

"During the summer and early fall these birds are not housed 
at night but allowed access to a house that is openly built of boards 
and is without windows, which gives them shade or shelter. About 
November 15, they are placed in the houses for laying ducks and 
allowed the liberty of a yard 100 by 20 feet during the day. They 
are then fed twice daily on a mixture of equal parts shorts and 
ground oats, to which is added five per cent, beef scraps. 

"About Christmas, when grass and green rye are no longer 
available, corn meal is substituted for the ground oats and ten per 
cent, of beef scraps given instead of five per cent. To the mixture 
is also added one-fifth part of boiled vegetables — beets, turnips, or 
carrots cut up in a root cutter and cooked in a boiler. They are also 
fed cut raw cabbage and raw turnips, two or three times per week. 
The raw cabbage is cut in a root cutter and the turnips in a bone 
cutter. The cabbage fed is never cooked. They estimate that they 
receive an average of 150 eggs per duck during the season. Most 
of the eggs laid before January are sold in the market. The clear 
infertile eggs, tested out on the fifth day of incubation are also sold 
throughout the season. The production of ducks' eggs to sell in 
the market they do not consider profitable. 

"They have no ponds for their ducks, but by the above method 
of feeding they have no trouble to get eggs that will hatch from 
January 1 until August. During the season of 1896 fully seventy- 
five per cent, of their ducks' eggs were fertile, and of all eggs put 
in the machine fifty-eight per cent hatched. About January 1, 
1896, their ducks were laying about sixty eggs per day. In March 
they were getting 480 eggs per day from 520 ducks. On February 
10, 1897, they received about 400 eggs from 600 laying ducks of 
which 425 were young ducks, 29 eggs being picked up from a pen 
of 30 young birds. They also had at this date no ducklings, but had 
4,000 fertile eggs in their incubators. On February 23, they had 
800 ducklings and 5,200 fertile eggs in their machines. 

"The point is to get the ducklings into market when they bring 
$1.25 to $2 each. 

"Their houses for laying ducks, are 85 feet long, 18 feet wide, 
6 feet high in the rear, 4 feet high at the front, 12 feet high at the 
ridge, and cost, covered with Neponset, $150 each. They are high 
and airy and make excellent winter quarters. They are divided up 
into pens 20 by 15 feet, leaving a three-foot passageway along the 
back of the building. In the front there are two ordinary half win- 
dows to each pen, and a door for the ducks. There is a window 
every 20 feet in the back of these buildings for ventilation. In sum- 
mer the sashes are taken out and the openings covered with netting. 
In cleaning out the building the litter is thrown out through the 
front windows where it can be conveniently removed by team. The 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 105 

floor is well bedded with sawdust and in mid-winter with meadow 
hay. 

"During the laying season the ducks are kept shut in the 
house until 9 o'clock in the morning, that they may lay in the house 
instead of on the ground in the yard. No boxes are furnished for 
nests ; they make their own right in the sawdust. 

"During the winter one drake is provided for every five ducks, 
but after June 1st one is sufficient for ten ducks, and it is then best 
to lessen the number of drakes one-half. 

"Pekin ducks are very nervous timid creatures, and at night 
will dodge the shadow from a light in great terror. If startled in 
the dark by one jostling against another, they become so frightened 
that the whole lot may rush about in excitement and terror until 
morning. Unless this is prevented, they run off much flesh in a 
very short time and otherwise injure themselves. To prevent loss 
in this way, the Webers light the houses and yards at night. 
Every house and yard where ducks that have feathered out are kept 
is provided with a large street lamp such as are frequently used 
for lighting country towns. Young ducks while in the brooders do 
not need to have their quarters illuminated at night. 

"During the height of the incubating season, the Webers fill a 
six hundred (hen) egg incubator every other day and therefore 
have a machine hatching ducklings every two days. 

"Usually it takes about two days for all the ducklings to hatch. 
Twice each day, those that have dried off are put beneath the trays, 
where they are left for 24 hours and then transferred to the brooder- 
house, where they are at once watered and fed with rolled oats and 
bread crumbs. Each downy duckling is counted as they are taken 
from the box in which they are brought from the incubators, their 
bills dipped in a pail of water, and then dropped upon the feed board 
covered with bread crumbs. When their beak touches the board, 
some of the dry food adheres to it, is tasted and immediately they 
search for more. As soon as t*hey have eaten, they are put under 
the hovers, which are at first kept at ioo° and then gradually reduced 
in about four days to 8o°. The Webers buy stale bakers' bread by 
the ton. They have no bowel trouble among their ducklings, be- 
cause they are so strong and vigorous. It is only those that have 
weak vitality that die. These little ducklings are fed the above five 
times daily for about a week. The very early ducks are fed on rolled 
oats and sweet milk until they are two weeks old and sometimes 
longer. 

"At three weeks of age a more growing food is given the young 
ducks. This is composed of equal parts shorts, gluten feed and 
ground oats, to which is added five per cent, beef scraps. Enough 
'red dog" flour or fine middlings is added to make it stick together. 
This is fed four times daily. The food is fed in troughs. Wooden 
troughs eight inches deep, nine or ten broad and five by fourteen 
feet long also make the best receptacles for water. Green food is 
also given them once per day. At eight weeks of age their food 
consists of four-fifths corn meal and one-fifth low grade flour and 



io6 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

ten per cent, beef scraps, and is given three times daily. They re- 
ceive once per day all the clover or fodder corn cut up fine that they 
can eat. The ducklings are fed green food from start to finish. The 
\vebers find waste lettuce leaves most excellent for little ducklings 
and they buy them by the wagon load when they can get them, and 
think of putting up a hot-house in which they may raise lettuce sown 
broadcast. They buy daily many cans of skimmed milk at 6 and 7 
cents per can of 8J quarts and mix it with the food for fattening 
ducks. As soon as the young ducks reach a weight of 5 lb., which 
they do at about ten weeks, they are killed and marketed. 

"If one should ask the Weber Bros, what are the worst snags 
to be avoided in following this business, they would probably say : 
Do not breed "in and in" or raise breeding stock from anything 
younger than yearlings. Do not fail to give your young birds, to 
be used for breeders, more growing food and more freedom than you 
give the ducks that are fatted and killed. Mate up before Novem- 
ber i,, and be sure to feed plenty of cooked vegetables and green 
food as well as the right grain, if you want the eggs to be fertilized 
•early in the year. 

"Their unusual success in securing a high per cent, of fertile 
eggs early in the season should cause the beginner in artificial duck 
culture, at least, to heed this advice in every particular." 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. , 107 



CHAPTER X. 

Turkey and Guinea Broilers for Market — Valuable Pointers on the 
Care and Marketing of Turkeys. 

The Feather, of Washington, D. C, published the following, 
which is not only interesting but instructive reading: 

The use of the turkey broilers in all of the clubhouses, restau- 
rants and high quality hotels in the large cities is greatly on the in- 
crease. For the purpose of information a number of chefs in the 
many popular resorts of the cities have been interviewed on the con- 
sumption of turkey poults, and general opinion seems to be that 
the people would gladly use them if they could only have them dur- 
ing a continued season of the year, but few of them ever reach the 
market. The use of turkey poults for broilers might be made profita- 
ble to those who do not hatch the turkey eggs that are laid late in 
the season simply because it is thoroughly understood that these 
late hatched poults cannot be grown to roasting size in time for the 
winter sales. Such late hatched poults never make good large- 
sized turkeys. 

But all of these eggs that are laid late in the season might be 
readily hatched and raised, and as soon as the young poults reach 
the broiler size they may be disposed of for turkey broilers in the 
■city markets. It seems scarcely probable that there is a possibility 
•of overdoing this, and those who make the attempt to grow these 
late hatched poults to turkey broilers should make their plans for 
disposing of these some time ahead of the time when they are fit for 
"broilers. This can be done through correspondence with the com- 
mission or poultry dealers of the large cities. 

It is always better to communicate with these dealers and find 
•out from them just when the demand will be the best for these 
turkey broilers, how they wish to have them dressed, and what 
days in the week would be the best for the product to reach the 
-market. 

All these little conditions should be thought of and attended 
to in advance so that there will not be the possibility of killing and 
dressing the turkey broilers and sending them into market without 
"knowing just when and where the demand will be. Quite often the 
market is glutted on certain days because every one seems to think 
that they should all ship on a certain day. If it is the hope of a 
locality to ship to market all their product on Monday, those who 
delay shipping until Tuesday night usually get the best of the bar- 
gain. This simply illustrates the fact that one should be careful 
and watch out so as not to ship into market the products until they 



to8 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

are needed. Always try to be in communication with some one as 
to the best time to ship, and by taking advantage of this it will be 
possible at all times to dispose of everything that you have to sell 
at a profit. Never get caught on an overloaded market and lose the 
whole shipment. 

Guinea Broilers. 

The demand for Guinea hens of all sizes and ages is largely on 
the increase. 

The Guinea broiler at a pound each was very popular the past 
season at watering places and in the cities as well. The Guinea 
broiler at about a pound or a pound and a quarter can be made use 
of as a substitute for many kinds of game birds, and while it may 
be considerable time before they will be as extensively used as are 
the broiler chicken the day is not far distant when every single 
Guinea broiler that can be grown will have ready sale in the city 
markets. The laws prohibiting the cold storage of game birds, sell- 
ing them out of season, has made it necessary for the high class 
restaurants and hotels to have a substitute for game birds. There 
seems to be nothing that meets the demand so well as does the 
Guinea broiler except the home grown or domestic pheasant. 

The increasing scarcity of game has increased the demand for 
various poultry products out of the usual line. Among these are 
turkey broilers, squabs, small chicken broilers, and Guinea broilers. 
A New York dealer who has had to pay top prices for young 
Guinea chickens writes as follows with r-egard to this specialty : 

"Young Guineas have been coming into favor since the passage 
of the stringent game laws which have prevented dealers and restau- 
rant men from getting sufficient game to supply their wants. The 
Guineas are -wanted when weighing from three-quarters to i§ 
pounds delivered dead with feathers on and selling at $i per pair. 
The restaurant men and summer-hotel people will take a?l they can 
get." 

Pointers on Turkeys. 

Take young turkeys from the nest as soon as they are dry, to 
prevent them from mashing, wrap them up and keep in a warm 
place, says a correspondent in American Agriculturist. Give no 
food for a day and night ; there is a residium of yolk to be adsorbed' 
and voided. Too early feeding interferes with this process. 

Cloud's Poultry News gives these pointers : As killing time 
draws nearer feed oftener. Give a variety. Don't depend on corn 
alone, and don't expect to make good turkeys with sour, damaged 
grain. Select the best hens for breeding purposes, and do not sell' 
these nor exchange for poor stock. Don't take everyone's advice 
on how to grow turkeys. Find out for yourself. 

Mrs. Magruder, after first week gives her turkeys curds of but- 
termilk or clabber, scalded and pressed dry from whey. Sprinkle? 
occasionally with red pepper. Also feeds plain corn cake, unsalted r 
crumbled find and moistened with a little water or sweet milk; 
these are the proper foods for young turkeys. Feeds four or five 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 109 

times a day, in an earthenware plate or vessel. Turkeys are 
fastidious as to clean platters and food. Does not give raw meal, 
dough, buttermilk or sour milk. These produce diarrhoea, and this 
disease is the mortal foe of the turks. 

The best way to kill turkeys is to tie their feet together, hang 
the bird on a pole, cut the throat so as to bleed freely. Dry pick 
them, leaving head and wings on. After picked, dip in hot water, 
and then in cold. This will give the skin a fresher look. 

Stock should be changed as often as every third year, says 
Miss E. A. Murray, in Farm and Home. Nature puts her protest 
on inbreeding by giving warning, with club-footed and ill-condi- 
tioned chicks. 

When a turkey is the least bit indisposed, it will draw its head 
down between its shoulders and refuse food. 

"In spite of all our care, young turkeys have a disagreeable 
habit of dying," writes Miss E. A. Murray. "The causes are filth, 
close confinement and improper food. Prevention is better than 
cure. I do not have much luck in doctoring the symptoms. I try 
to remove the cause. I occasionally use a few remedies, a little hot 
milk for a weakling, a little cayenne pepper in their food, a small 
dose of sweet oil for constipation, thorough searching for lice, and 
greasing under the wings for the same. For gapes the same reme- 
dies we apply as to chickens. I never saw a turkey that got its liv- 
ing in the fields that had the gapes." 

"The gobbler comes in as a factor," writes Miss Murray. "If 
he isvwhat he ought to be, he will go with the mother, help her take 
care of the chicks during the day, and hover over them at night,' 
and if she lays again, take entire charge of the flock. I have seen 
hen turkeys fly up into a tree with the older ones, and leave the 
younger ones on the ground, and my old fine gobbler has come 
down off his perch and hovered them night after night. I have seen 
him coax with exquisite tact and patience, the timid turkeys raised 
by a hen, and when he succeeded in gaining their confidence, what 
a proud and loving father he was." 

The editor of the Poultry Chum, who is also an extensive turkey 
grower, made the experiment of placing four birds in a pen and 
feeding meal, boiled potatoes and oats. Four other turkeys of the 
same brood were at the same time confined in another pen and fed 
the same diet, but with the addition of a pint of very finely pul- 
verized charcoal mixed with their food. They had also a plentiful 
supply of broken charcoal in their pen. The eight were killed the 
same day, and there was a difference of one and a half pounds each 
in favor of the fowls which had been supplied with charcoal, they 
being much the fattest, and the meat being superior in point of 
tenderness and flavor. 

Prof. Cushman, in American Agriculturist, says if the little 
turkeys die immediately after hatching, and before they have been 
fed or watered, they probably are from weak or runout stock, or 
have been improperly incubated. 



no Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

I have learned by experience that the more you let a turkey 
alone after it is big enough to hunt, the better it is off, says a cor- 
respondent in Western Rural. Feed them regularly, let them roost 
out of doors, and they are a very healthy fowl. 

You never lose money on young and growing turkeys if you 
keep them until after the holidays are over, says Western Rural. 
Turkeys are light eaters in the whole, and constantly growing until 
one year old, and it costs no more to raise a good sized turkey than 
a little one. 

At certain seasons of the year turkeys are in great demand, 
says Iowa Homestead, and it is safe to say that a pound of turkey 
meat is worth as much as one and one-half to two pounds of pork, 
and often three times as much, although the cost of the two does 
not differ greatly. 

Potatoes, swedes, mangolds, boiled soft and mixed with ground 
oats, barleymeal, buckwheatmeal or cornmeal constitute good fat- 
tening foods. The French fatten with beetroot, artichokes or pota- 
toes, boiled and mixed with meal, and give acorns, chestnuts and 
walnuts. The latter, they consider, give a delicious flavor to the 
meat. 

When you handle your turkeys, especially if they are large 
ones, be careful about their claws, writes C. P. Reynolds, in Amer- 
ican Fancier. A slight scratch is quite painful and may even prove 
serious. The writer has just had a little practical experience in this 
line and a "game" hand is the result. A gloved hand is the safest. 

W. H. Rudd, in American Agriculturist, says there has been 
quite a demand for young turkeys to broil, during the early and late 
summer, for several years past, and the demand seems to be increas- 
ing. We should think a good weight at three months of age would 
be three to four pounds each, and this is the weight desired for 
broilers. 

The question is often asked, can turkeys eggs be successfully 
hatched under common hens? says a writer in Tri-State News. 
There is no doubt but what it can be done, as has been repeatedly 
demonstrated, but whether one can get the best quality of stock 
from poults so hatched and reared, is quite a different matter. We 
have entirely given up the idea of trying to raise young turkeys by 
any means other than by their natural mothers. While it is very 
true that turkeys can be reared by domestic hens with more or less 
success, it is entirely impossible to attain the lusty, vigorous 
growth of stock that have developed under the charge of the mother 
turkey. 

Perches should not be more than two feet from the ground. 

Scalded curd or ordinary Dutch cheese is the ideal food for 
young turkeys. 

Nothing is so objectionable as a turkey with a crooked breast 
when trussed. 

Some turkey raisers do not give the young water to drink until 
they are a month old. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



in 




H2 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

While fattening, turkeys .require plenty of ventilation, fresh 
air, and should have a good supply of grit, sand and lime rubbish 
to aid digestion. 

Three weeks are considered sufficient time for fattening the 
hens, and a little longer for the cocks, provided the birds are in 
good condition when put up. 

"I would not advise anyone, however, to embark in turkey 
rearing unless the locality be a dry one ; for a damp, marshy, cold 
soil is fatal, and no amount of drainage can make it fit for turkeys," 
writes a correspondent in Rural New-Yorker. "No matter how 
rocky, sandy or broken it may be, the fowls will be healthy ; in fact, 
if the soil does not contain sand and gravel, both should be pro- 
vided." 

The turkey crop hatched previous to June I should attain good 
growth by last of November, the cock birds reaching 10 or 12 
pounds. 

Charcoal is a valuable article in the diet of turkeys, both old and 
young. 

A Kansas lady feeds her turkey chicks every two hours for the 
first 10 days. 

Geo. Enty says that on any ground upon which people can live 
turkeys will thrive. 

Patience should be the rule in raising turkeys. 

A little sand should be mixed daily with soft feed for the 
young. 

Cleanliness prevents much of the mortality among the 
young. 

Turkeys cannot be successfully brooded artificially. 

The bulk of the turkey crop is brought out by hens. 

The largest flocks and the most thrifty looking turkeys, are 
found on farms having high, dry land, which has a light growth of 
grass, and where a new breeding gobbler has lately been introduced. 

"Whatever you feed, don't feed wheat bread ; you might as well 
feed them putty, in my opinion. Though only a farmer's wife, I 
have had good success raising turkeys on a small scale for twenty 
years," says Mrs. Lottie E. Waring, in Coleman's Rural World. 

Infertility in turkey eggs is mainly due to an overfat condition 
of the breeding stock. 

Fermentation in the crop, common in turkeys, is prevented in 
the feeding of charcoal. 

If you begin feeding the turkeys off a board, it will be difficult 
to get them to eat off the ground, and vice-versa. 

It is said that in Scotland when the young turkeys droop they 
are given a drop of whisky; in France they get a teaspoonful of 
wine. 

Mrs. Stella G. Northington, in Fancy Fowls, advises granulated 
oatmeal, cracked corn and whole wheat as a good evening ration 
for young turkeys. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 113 

A single union of a male and female fertilizes all the eggs the 
hen will lay for one season, hence one gobbler will suffice for twenty 
or more hens. 

Young gobblers may be distinguished from the females by 
being heavier, more masculine in appearance, more caruncutated 
on the head, and a development of the "lassels" on the breast, says 
Poultry and Pets. A little experience may be required at first. 

It is not the largest turkey that sells soonest, says Poultry 
Keeper, but the fat and plump bird, of medium size, for which an 
extra price can be obtained at all seasons. 

At the age when turkeys begin to acquire the red head, possibly 
it is accompanied by a fever similar to the moulting fever in fowls, 
says a New York turkey raiser. At this period, feed well and watch 
for vermin. The "head louse" is found on top of head, nape of neck 
and under the ears. Dust frequently with insect powder or grease 
with lard. The small gray "mite" is hard to find ; it clings closely 
under the throat and beneath the wings, and is the most blood 
thirsty of the vermin. Anoint well with lard, into which is mixed 
a little coal oil. Use the kerosene wash and sulphur freely about 
the coops and roosting place. On the ninth week the brood may be 
left to care for themselves night and morning. 

Tame the young turkeys so they will eat from your hand, and 
they will not be frightened when you are compelled to handle them. 

The common run of turkeys sent to the New York markets do 
not average more than 8 or 9 pounds. 

R. E. Phelps, in American Agriculturist, says the first re- 
quisite in turkey raising is good stock. The fowls should be healthy, 
of good shape, with heavy bodies and not too much leg; the hens 
either one or two years old. If older the eggs are fewer in number 
and more likely to have soft shells. The gobbler should be well 
matured, and weigh not less than 18 to 20 pounds. Gobblers and 
hens should never be selected from the same flock. 

Mrs. Cora Halbrook, in Poultry Keeper, prepares the nests for 
sitting hens on turkey eggs, as follows : "Prepare the nest by tak- 
ing several newspapers, put them all around and all over the nests, 
and just leave a piece large enough for the hen to get out or in. 
Then put about 2J inches of ashes on the paper, and cover with 
enough hay to keep the eggs off the ashes. Then I tie moth balls 
in small rags, one in a rag, and place two of these in a nest, 
which I think prevent lice. You can get a pint for five cents : (they 
are very poisonous and must be kept away from children). We set 
11 eggs under a hen." 

Turkey raisers make a mistake when they sell off all there older 
birds and retain young ones for breeding purposes, says Texas 
Farm and Ranch. The turkey is not fully mature until two years, 
is at its best at three years, and nearly as good at four. 

In killing, bleed freely. 

After the holidays 8 to 10 pound birds sell best. 

Give fattening turkeys all the clean water they will drink. 



U4 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

A cock at 12 months of age should range 16 to 20 odd pounds,, 
according to the breed and how they are cared for. 

Rural New-Yorker gives the following pointers on marketing 
turkey feathers: The quills from the third joint or tip end of the 
wing are called pointers, and should be kept separate. In packing, 
keep tail and wing feathers separate. Tie each kind in bundles by 
itself, and press the bundles in the boxes tightly. All feathers must 
be clean, sound and dry-picked. The wing quills which have full 
plumage on both sides of the quill, which come from the first and 
second joints of the wing next the body, are more valuable than, 
and should be kept separate from, the pointers. The tail feathers 
should be kept by themselves, and are the most available. The short 
tail and wing quills, if saved, should be kept separate from the long 
ones, as they depreciate their value if mixed with them. Prices in 
New York are about as follows : Prime tail quills, from 25 to 30 
cents per pound ; mixed tail and wing quills, about 20 cents per 
pound; mixed wing, tail and pointer quills, about 12 to 15 cents per 
pound ; short tail and wing quills, about 7 to 8 cents per pound ; 
pointers, about 4 cents per pound. The directions for shipping are 
to mark the correct weight and tare on the boxes, also the name of 
the shipper, and ship as "turkey quills." The prices named may 
vary from time to time, but are approximately correct. 

A correspondent in American Agriculturist gives this method 
for fattening choice turkeys : In the morning feed a mash com- 
posed of corn, barley or buckwheat meal, mixed with skim milk, and 
a few sweet potatoes added, with some sharp grit to aid digestion. 
Also mix with this feed a good brand of condition powder; it 
sharpens the appetite, and causes them to gain flesh faster. At noon 
give cracked corn, buckwheat or barley, and at night give a supper 
of whole or cracked corn, with an occasional feed of buckwheat. Do 
not use new corn, as it is apt to produce bowel trouble, but feed 
well seasoned corn, one year old. That over one year old is apt to 
make the flesh courser and not so white and delicate as that fed on 
nice, white one-year-old corn. It is best not to coop turkeys while 
fattening; they almost invariably lose their appetites and become 
sickly. Turkeys are very active and must have plenty of fresh air 
and liberty or they will not thrive. If fed all they will eat three 
times a day, they are not inclined to roam, but will sit around quietly 
and will seem to enjoy resting in the sunshine. Turkeys intended 
for the later markets should not be so heavily fed as those intended 
for sale in a few weeks. Long continued heavy feeding is not profit- 
able and is a source of great loss among turkey growers. Turkeys 
should be killed at once when ready for market. If kept over this 
time they soon begin to lose in flesh and will prove unprofitable. 

While it is undoubtedly good for the turkeys to roost out of 
doors during the warm weather of summer, as well as the pleasant 
fall months, we cannot think but that having been exposed all win- 
ter to the fierceness of the blasts, will injure them more or less, says 
American Stock-Keeper. Feeding the turkeys regularly, and after- 
ward driving them every eve into a commodious shed where they 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 115 

can find accommodations for roosting, they will soon learn, to seek 
that shelter for the night, and will be more secure from the depreda- 
tions of poultry thieves. 

A Canadian correspondent of the American Agriculturist says 
turkeys are as easy to raise as chickens if one has the right stock. 
But most people pick out all the largest birds to market at Thanks- 
giving and Christmas, and keep the small ones, with the impres- 
sion that they will grow if given time. This is a great mistake, as 
in a flock you will always find a few better developed, bigger-boned 
birds, t±nd these invariably have the constitution we need for breed- 
ing purposes. To make a success select the best hens in the flock; 
good deep, plucky birds, with big bone and short legs, and dispose 
of the long-legged, loose-built ones. He finds the Bronze the 
hardiest, but a cross with the wild would perhaps still further im- 
prove them. The biggest drawback with the wild cross is, they 
are hard to keep near the home, and are easily frightened. Having 
selected your breeding stock, which is best to do in the fall, winter 
them and let them run out all the time. 

An English turkey raiser says : "I make it a hard and fast rule 
(if at home) to feed my turkeys myself every morning, as by so 
doing, I see at once if any of the birds are ailing. If ever you see a 
turkey refusing its morning meal, you may be quite sure it requires 
attention. Sometimes, when 5 or 6 months old, you see one lagging 
behind the. rest, and either refusing food altogether or just pecking 
a few grains, then walk away. Taken in time this state of affairs is 
soon remedied. Catch the turkey and put in a warm, dry building, 
and mix half a teaspoonful of lard, or unsalted butter, with a half 
teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, and make it into small pills with a 
little flour. These pills I give at night and feed very sparingly next 
day. The following morning the bird generally goes out all right, 
and quite ready for breakfast. Should this not be the case, I have 
often given half of one of Carter's Little Liver Pills with good ef- 
fect." 

About four dozen eggs are given as an average for the annual 
output of the turkey. 

The first eight weeks of the young turkeys life require constant 
care. 

Even July hatched turkeys can be made profitable. 

Seven eggs is about all a common hen can cover. 

Keep the young shut up while the dew is on the grass. 

L. V. Hopkins, in American Agriculturist, says the first dose 
that he gives his little turkeys is a pill in the shape of one whole 
black pepper. Each little mouth is forced open and the pepper 
pressed down. 

"I have always thought that the delicacy of young turkeys is 
due in a measure to the rapidity with which feathers are grown," 
says L. V. Hopkins. A young chicken retains its down for several 
weeks until its body is well grown, but a young turkey begins at 
once to put out large feathers on its wings and tail. This enormou- 
feather growth saps the vitality of the body and leaves it an easy 



n6 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

prey to weakness and disease. To overcome this tendency should 
be the aim of every breeder. 

The following- method of fattening for market is recommended 
by Mrs. A. W. Trumble, in Practical Farmer: "Usually fed corn 
exclusively, but sometimes would feed small potatoes cooked and 
mashed with cornmeal, fed warm. They were always fed all they 
would eat but had their liberty, never shutting up until the day be- 
fore killing. They were dressed in best possible manner and sent 
to a city market a few days before Thanksgiving Day, and I never 
remember getting a low price. We kept no pure breed. I think a 
medium-size turkey sells better and will be full grown and plump, 
while the extra large take longer to mature and if dressed before 
fully grown often show pin feathers." 

The most delicious, juicy broiler that an epicure can fancy is a 
turkey poult of about six pound weight, or when about two-thirds 
grown, and of medium size. Many a young male two-thirds grown 
would be too large to broil ; if rather large, however, the breast may 
be gushed, and thus more easily cooked through, but it must not be 
dried. 

The Epitomist advises, when the wings of the turkey begin to 
be the largest part of it, take the poult up and pull two or three of 
the long feathers out of the wings at the point, holding the wing 
tightly and giving a quick jerk. We do not know what causes these 
long feathers to grow in, but we do know that when they are pulled 
out the chances are very good for that turkey to grace a Thanks- 
giving festival. 

Turkeys like to roost as high as possible in the house; there- 
fore, the perches should be on a level to prevent them breathing foul 
air, as they are more subject to roup and cold than any other fowls. 

It should always be borne in mind that unless the stock birds 
are large it is impossible to get the young ones to a good weight; 
therefore it is best to purchase the largest and finest stock obtain- 
able to breed from. 

Many farmers allow their young turkeys to run in the stubble 
fields, which is a good plan, as they not only pick up a great deal of 
loose corn, but often get dainty morsels of green stuff, besides which 
they have plenty of fresh air and exercise. 

Let no novice in this business suppose he can succeed without 
great care and prudence. Young turkeys are the most tender of all 
young fowls, and need the most care. This care commences with 
a good selection of the finest, earliest and heaviest turkeys for 
breeders. 

The American Poultry Journal gives this method for fattening 
for market when fattening time comes : The turkeys should be 
confined in a shed spacious enough to let them move about some- 
what, but not large enough to grant them exercise. Low roosts 
should be placed. Half an hour in the morning ought to be allowed 
them for roaming about outside, where grit can be found and where 
they can stretch their legs. After that they should be called into 
the shed, by feeding them only in that spot, and so left for the day. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 117 

On cold wet days they need not be let out. The feed should be put 
into troughs, set low on a broad base, and located where the fowls 
will not soil them. The feeding place might be under a shed ad- 
joining the shed where they roost. The morning meal at first may 
consist of barley meal and middlings ; and skim milk is desirable as 
a mixing fluid. Oatmeal is proper as the days go on, and minced fat 
should be added during the last 10 days. The evening meal should 
include boiled corn, and the mess ought to be mixed stirrer than for 
the morning feed. Whole grain is good in moderation, scattered or> 
the ground. 

Never feed cornmeal to young. i | 

As a rule, turkey eggs hatch well. 

Don't breed from excessive weights. 

Medium-sized but plump turkeys are marketable all the year 
round, so that at any time when there is a surplus they may be sold 
at fair prices, but to secure the best prices they must be young and 
in a good marketable condition, not too fat and not too large. 

J. F. Crangle says a pasture is a good place for poults. Free 
range gives the best turkeys. Teach them to come home to feed at 
a particular place. He says they never lose over ten per cent, of 
the poults, these mostly by foxes and hawks. He believes that more 
money can be made in turkeys than in any other branch of poultry 
for farmers. 

"I do not wonder that there are so many failures made in pre- 
paring turkeys for market when we take into consideration the 
course so many breeders take in fattening their birds," says George 
Wolf, in Farm-Poultry. "I have frequently seen flocks of turkeys 
penned up in a building for the purpose of fattening for market, and 
it was a failure every time. This is no more than should be expected, 
for turkeys are of a wild nature, and as soon as they are cooped they 
begin quarreling, chasing one another about and constantly worry- 
ing for freedom. They soon tire of their food, grow thin and will, 
when killing time comes, weigh less then when first cooped with the 
expectation of fattening them." 

"If I had a healthy, vigorous lot of turkeys that I wanted to 
prepare for market," says George Wolf, in Farm-Poultry, "I would 
give them absolute freedom and all the clean water they would 
drink. The fattening process would continue through weeks and at 
no time would I give them quite all they would eat, for as sure as 
you overfeed you will begin to notice sick birds in the flock. I. 
would feed corn of last season's crop, and mash should be cold, fed 
in a long trough that is kept perfectly clean, and grit of some kind 
should be placed where they could always get it. My object in mak- 
ing them pick the corn from the cob is to give them exercise and 
because they will not roam as far from home if kept busy for an 
hour or so picking corn." 

George M. Tucker, in Farm and Home, says he has found that 
turkeys raised from the same cock and hens will after a few years, 
be liable to crooked breasts and other deformities. 

Indigestion destroys many young. 



ii8 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Too many young turkeys are overfed. 

It is easier to overfeed than underfeed. 

Scarcely enough attention is paid to providing grit for young 
turkeys to keep them in the best of health. 

Have regular meals,' and an hour after feeding remove all food 
uneaten. 

Mrs. G. H. Watson, in Iowa Homestead, says : If a turkey is fed 
all the shelled corn he can possibly stuff himself with, he gets lazy 
and quarrelsome, crushing and tearing the life out of everything 
smaller and weaker than himself, that is not active enough to keep 
out of his way. Even the mother hen will kill the nearly grown 
youngster that she has fought so hard to protect and rear, if it goes 
sick or crippled. 

The fact that turkeys are difficult to raise makes it all the more 
desirable that when brought to maturity they should be of the best, 
says the Gentleman Farmer. This can be assured by breeding and 
feeding, but never by the hit-and-miss methods in vogue by the 
ordinary breeder. Breed from the roundest birds ; do not expect to 
get good market stock from long, lean progenitors. Gradually get 
your flock into square, merchantable shape, on which every ounce of 
fat will show to advantage, and make good eating. 

Maryland and Philadelphia dry-picked turkeys, says the New 
York Produce Review, command the highest market prices, not 
only for the reason that the turkeys are fat and usually of a fine 
grade, but that they are well bled in killing, which naturally gives 
the skin a bleached white appearance. 

E. P. Cloud, the editor of Poultry News, is an experienced 
turkey raiser. His method of fattening for market is as follows : "Do 
not confine the flock, to be fattened, in small pens; remember the 
nature of the birds require liberty; rather confine those which you 
wish to keep over. Turkeys having full liberty will devour much 
food and take on fat rapidly. Fattening turkeys will not wandef 
so much, as" after being put on full feed they will be more content to 
remain nearer home. Give the fattening turkeys all they can eat 
four times a day, from the time when you commence full feeding 
until twenty-four hours before slaughtering time. The first three 
of the daily meals should be of cooked potatoes and cornmeal, or 
of cornmeal scalded with milk or water, and the last of whole corn 
varied with wheat or buckwheat. Always use corn a year old ; new 
corn causes much trouble and may kill them. Give the first meal 
' as soon as possible after daylight, and the last just before dark. Feed 
each time all they will eat up clean, but leave no food for them. Feed 
the pounded charcoal occasionally, and keep a supply of gravel 
where they can help themselves." 

Coop for young turkeys should have board floors. 

A good sign is to see the young turkeys catching flies. 

Grass and insects compose the natural diet of turkeys. 

A writer in Poultry Farmer gives these valuable suggestions : 
Rearing turkeys requires a certain management and method of 
feeding. Very much depends on the feed for the first two months, 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 119 

Unless they are at least a week old young turks should be kept away 
from all other poultry save their mother, since they are prone to fol- 
low anything that is moving. The first feed should consist of stale 
bread soaked in milk, with chopped onions and milk curd, to which 
should be added a little black pepper three times a week. Hard 
boiled eggs may be given, but there is a proneness to give too much 
of this food. A poult is easily killed and a few lice on it will mean 
its death. 

Young turkeys require feed oftener than young chicks. The 
breeding stock should not be related in the least. Raw corn meal is 
not beneficial to turkeys. When they are old enough to eat corn 
they may eat almost any other feed that is at hand. A little fresh 
meat chopped and fed to them, will be a benefit and will also be very 
much relished. Keep roosting coops clean and dry. Should a 
mother hen refuse to go in a coop it is because it is full of lice or is 
filthy, her instinct telling her that it is not a proper place for her 
brood. Keep all drinking fountains clean and sweet. For the first 
few weeks the poults should not be exposed to rain or dew. Provide 
plenty of sharp sand or gravel for them. Give them a good dust 
bath, composed of sifted coal ashes. It will cause lice to hunt other 
quarters very soon. One very important point will be to look twice 
a week for large lice on their heads. Two or three healthy insects 
of this order will soon cause the death of a poult. Turkeys are 
fond of grass seed and insects, and will seek such foods if they do 
not have them. Turkeys do not take kindly to close confinement, 
and the young take great delight in warm weather, it can scarcely 
get too warm for them and for this reason the earliest broods do not 
do the best. Warm weather and long rambles through the fields are 
necessary privileges of the turkey. They will be noticed to move 
slowly scanning every nook and corner for some morsel to pick up, 
even in the heat of the day. To be profitable they should make 
rapid growth, and to do this they should have plenty of good food 
and should be kept warm and dry. 



In an excellent article on the turkey, the Feather gives the fol- 
lowing practical advice : 

Marketing. 

After the turkeys are grown and ready for market, quite as 
much care and attention should be given to the killing and shipping 
as to the proper growing. Where these things can not be done to 
good advantage, it is better to sell them alive. Buyers who are pre- 
pared to kill, dress, pack, and ship turkeys, and to save the feathers, 
should be in position to pay what they are worth alive ; and should 
be able to handle them at a profit, better than can the grower, who 
may not be prepared to do the work to advantage. So much de- 
pends upon marketing them in the best condition that small growers 
should either dress and sell to thteir home market or, providing it 
can be done at a fair price, sell alive to someone who makes a busi- 
ness of handling such stock. 



120 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Killing. 

Kill nothing but well-fattened stock. It seldoms pays to send 
ill-favored stock into market. Do not give any food to the turkeys 
for twenty-four hours prior to killing. This allows the crop and en- 
trails to become empty and avoids much of the danger of spoiling.. 
Full crops and entrails count against value ; they often taint the 
meat and prevent its being kept for any length of time. 

There are two methods of killing largely used. The most popu- 
lar is to suspend the fowl by the shanks head down, and cut or stick: 
it in the roof of the mouth with a knife made especially for this pur- 
pose. This severes the arteries and cuts into the brain, causing insen- 
sibility and a free flow of blood from the mouth. This is called' 
sticking in the roof of the mouth. 

The other plan is to break the neck by a quick twist or jerk 
backward. When the neck is completely disjointed the head is 
pulled away so as to form an open space in the neck in which the 
blood may settle. This plan has been but little used, though the 
claim is made that when so killed the fowls will keep longer, be- 
cause there is no opening by which the air can get into the body, 
as there is when they are stuck in the roof of the mouth. This 
method has been more used for chickens than for turkeys, and to 
use it well requires considerable practice. 

The method of beheading with an ax or hatchet has been em- 
ployed for ages. 

Dressing. 

Dry-picking is always to be preferred when preparing the fowls 
for market. When in fine condition, nicely picked, and sent to> 
market without having been packed in ice, a turkey is at its best, 
and consequently commands the highest price. As soon as the fowl 
is stuck and the blood is still flowing, pluck the feathers dry from 
its body, taking care in doing this not to break the skin or tear the 
flesh. Nothing detracts so much from dressed poultry as torn 
places upon the carcass or shank ; picking must be clean and nicely 
done. When the fowl is plucked hang it head down in a cool place 
until all animal heat is gone from the body, being careful not to 
hang it where it will be so exposed to cold air as to be likely to 
freeze. Do not remove the head, feet, or entrails, but have the whole 
carcass, including head and feet, perfectly clean. 

The method known as scalding and plucking is too familiar to 
need comment further than to say that care must be taken not to 
scald or tear the skin or shank. Perform this operation as neatly 
as possible. As soon as the animal heat has left the body, the ap- 
pearance of the dressed turkeys may be improved by submerging for 
a short time in cold water, as this has a tendency to make them 
plump whether dry picked or scalded. The plucking should be done 
as quickly as possible ; the more quickly done, the more readily can 
the feathers be removed. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 123 

Packing. 

For shipping, pack as closely as possible into close boxes or 
barrels, nicely lined with white or manila paper ; do not use brown, 
soiled, or printed paper. Have the package completely filled so as 
to prevent the poultry from shifting about in transit ; do not use hay 
or straw for packing, as it marks or stains the fowls and detracts 
from their value. The above method can only be used when the 
poultry is sent to market without being packed in ice, and when this 
can be done with safety, either in refrigerator cars or for a short 
distance in cold weather, it is by far the best. The greater part, 
however, must be packed in ice. When necessary to do this, use 
nice clean barrels. Cover the bottom with broken ice; then put in 
a layer of poultry, then a layer of ice; continue thus till the barrel 
is packed solid and full. Head the barrel tightly and mark its con- 
tents plainly on the head, and never ship mixed lots of poultry ir? 
*.he same package if it can be avoided. 



122 Money in Broilers and Squabs, 



CHAPTER XI. 

General Information About Geese — Breeding Season — Goslings: 
Care and Feeding — Fattening — Killing and Picking. 

Green goose culture is a profitable industry, but not very ex- 
tensively carried on compared to that of green ducks. Where suffi- 
cient space can be provided, it is a valuable adjunct to the poultry 
business. 

Following are extracts taken from the writings of some of the 
best authorities, and in this we are under especial obligations to the 
Rhode Island Experiment Station, which made special trials and 
tests. 

A goose was exhibited at the New Jersey State fair, 1859, and 
her history, on a placard posted on the coop, read as follows : 
"Madam Goose is now owned by Robert Schomp, of Reading, Hun- 
terdon County, N. J. She has been in his possession 25 years, and 
was given to him by his grandfather, Major H. G. Schomp. Robert's 
father is now in his 85th year, and this goose was a gift to his 
mother as a part of her marriage outfit. The mate of Madam 
Goose was killed in the Revolutionary War, being rode over by a 
troop of cavalry. In the spring of 1857 she laid 6 eggs, three of 
which were hatched and the goslings raised. In 1858 she made 7 
nests and laid but 2 eggs, evidence perhaps of failing faculties. Her 
eyes are becoming dim, one having almost entirely failed. The year 
of her birth cannot be known, but she remains a respresentative of 
the olden time." 

William Rankin, about 25 years ago, purchased in Rhode Island 
a wild gander which had been owned by one family some 50 years. 
A member of the family had wounded the gander by firing into a 
' flock of wild geese, breaking his wing. The gander recovered from 
his injury and was kept for that number of years, without, however, 
mating with other geese. He is now kept and used as a decoy bird 
during the gunning season, and highly valued by his owner, al- 
though at least 75 years old. 

According to the Greensburg (Pa.) Tribune, at West Brown- 
ville, Mrs. Kate Krepps owned a goose that recently died at the ad- 
vanced age of forty- two years. This was the last of a flock of 
geese which was owned years ago by Aunt Betsy Hopkins, mother 
01 Mrs. Krepps, and it is said they supplied the feathers for all the 
beds and pillows in the old Hopkins house. 

An instance is recorded where a Canada gander 45 years old 
was still serviceable, and in one season his progeny sold for the sum 
of $75. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 123 

Geese live to a great age, and females are reliable and produc- 
tive breeders for many years, but ganders of the domestic varieties 
are usually unreliable after 7 to 9 years. Canada ganders can be 
profitably kept for 25 or more years. 

Wm. Rankin, a veteran goose breeder, cites the instance of a 
goose owned in Boxford, Mass., where it was the property of one 
family for 101 years, and was then killed by the kick of a horse. 
She had laid 15 eggs and was sitting on them when a horse 
approached too near the nest ; she rushed off, in defence of her eggs, 
seized the horse by the tail, and was killed by a kick from the 
animal. 

Geese have a long tenure of life, far exceeding any other domes- 
tic animal in this respect. In former times it was not uncommon for 
the farmer's daughter, on her wedding day, to receive, among other 
gifts, a goose from the old homestead, to become her property and 
accompany her to her new home. In some instances such geese were 
kept for many years, perhaps far beyond the life of the young lady 
to whom it was presented. 

The Hebrews of our large cities are the best customers. 

The Hebrews use goose oil instead of lard. 

The Philadelphia Times tells of a goose fattening establishment 
kept by Sol Renaker, Cynthiana, Ky., where 20,000 geese are an- 
nually fattened for sale to the New York Hebrew people. 

Eating goose at Michaelmas was a very early custom in Eng- 
land for as far back as the 10th year of the reign of Edward IV. 
(1471,) John de la Haye was bound to render to William Barnaby, 
Lord of Lastress, in the country of Hereford, for a part of the 
demesne land, one goose fit for the Lord's dinner on the feast of St. 
Michael, the Archangel, says English Poultry. 

Hungarians, Poles, Hollanders, Bavarians, Germans, Bohe- 
mians, etc., are especially fond of goose flesh, and prefer it to other 
kinds of meat for Christmas and holiday feasts. 

The demand for geese is not constant, although there is a limited 
demand the year around ; the greatest numbers are called for during 
the winter; especially at the holiday seasons. But to bring good 
prices they must be young, fat, well-dressed, and put up in attrac- 
tive shape. 

Large quantities of geese in the New York markets come from 
eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; a great many come, also, 
from Pennsylvania and Maryland, and perhaps from farther away. 
Great quantities of live geese are received from the west. 

The American Agriculturist says : At Adamsville, R. I., there 
is a large goose-fattening establishment. The proprietors pick up 
the geese in carts when about half grown, that is, about the age that 
the quills begin to start ; many farmers prefer to dispose of the 
geese in this way rather than have the trouble of fattening them 
themselves. The professional fatteners finish off the geese in 4 to 6 
weeks. There is nothing secret about the method of fattening. They 
are given mostly cornmeal, bran and meat, and fed all they will eat. 
At killing time 5 or 6 pickers are employed, and these become very 



124 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

;xpert. dressing off from 20 to 25 a day. The product is shipped to 
New York and Boston ; sometimes the demand is better in one city 
and sometimes in the other. The poultry are dry picked, and feath- 
ers sold being kept until winter and shipped all together. Goose 
feathers are usually worth about 35 cents per pound. Mr. Cornell, 
Dwner of this establishment, said that last year he fatted about 10,- 
Doo geese and about 4,000 ducks, not so many as usual, as it was 
a poor season. He feeds 100 bushels meal per day, and two tons 
meat scraps per week. He does not coop them in houses to fatten, 
but lets them out in yards about 30 to 40 feet square. He employs 
8 pickers and 3 or 4 men to take care of the geese. He pays 10 cents 
for picking. 

Green geese are also called Boston geese, says Rural New- 
Yorker, not because they all come from that city, but because they 
resemble in style of carcass and dressing the geese from that local- 
ity, that established a reputation years ago. 

The Boston geese are usually dressed with the tail and wing 
feathers left on, and a ruff around the neck. 

An abdominal pouch of great size indicates great age. This 
sign is useful in purchasing breeding birds. 

P. H. Wilbur gives the average product per goose for 8 years, 
on his farm, at $7.48. 

The Canada goose, mated with the domestic goose, produces 
goslings commonly called mongrels, and sometimes termed "mules," 
because of the fact that they are sterile. 

It is occasionally true that a mongrel goose when kept for two 
or more years will lay a few eggs, but we have no knowledge that 
goslings have ever been hatched from eggs laid by a mongrel goose. 

Geese only one year old are not mature as breeders. The 
females lay a less number of eggs, of smaller size, and a greater pro- 
portion is usually infertile than is generally the case with females 
two or three years old. 

Ganders and geese are much attached to their mates and seldom 
prove unfaithful. Mismating and remating are often unsuccessful 
unless old mates are separated beyond sight and hearing of each 
other. 

Under natural conditions, geese copulate while in water, and 
when Canada geese are kept for the production of mongrels, water 
for swimming purposes is considered necessary, in order that fertile 
eggs may be produced. 

According to the Rhode Island census for 1895, each breeding 
goose (male or female) produced in goslings and feathers an average 
return of $6.76, which represents 371.42 per cent, upon the value of 
the breeding stock. 

Two common varieties of domestic geese, Embden and Toul- 
ouse, are without doubt descended from the wild "Graylag goose," 
(Anser Ferus) of England and the Continent. Two other breeds, 
Brown China and White China, are derived from an Asiatic species 
known as the Anser cygnoides, and it is quite possible that the Afri- 
can goose may have descended from the same original type. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 125 

The date of the domestication of the goose is hidden in the 
dimness of prehistoric times. Ancient writings reveal the goose as 
one of man's domestic animals valued for the flesh and feathers sup- 
plied by it for his food and comfort. Since the fourth century, 
quills from its powerful wings have furnished instruments for writ- 
ings, valuable and indispensible, until in modern times supplanted 
by their imitation, the steel pen. 

Geese have a strong attachment to the place or locality con- 
stituting their home, and removal just prior to or during the breed- 
ing season usually has a very injurious effect upon the egg yield and 
the fertility of the eggs. 

According to the Rhode Island census for 1885, the average 
product per sheep in wool and lambs was $2.51, while the same year 
the average product per goose was $2.72, or 21 cents more for each 
breeding goose kept than for each breeding sheep. 

By mating Embden ganders with African, Toulouse or 
Brown China geese, hardy, vigorous, quick-growing goslings are 
secured, having all the good points of the dark breeds, combined in 
a large majority of cases with white or pied plumage, and a yellow 
bill ; birds which dress easily and command the highest price in the 
market. 

The goose is naturally a grazing animal. The bill is provided 
with sharp, interlocking, serrated edges, designed to easily cut and 
divide vegetable tissues, and the tongue at the tip is covered with 
hard, hair-like projections pointing towards the throat, which serve 
to quickly and surely convey the bits of grass and leaves into the 
throat. 

Geese are naturally timid, watchful and easily frightened, but 
the ganders, during the breeding season, and in defence of their 
young are bold and courageous to a remarkable degree. They have 
many peculiarities which the breeder who would be successful should 
carefully study. They should be gently and kindly treated at all 
times. 

Picking live geese is now seldom practiced by goose breeders 
in Rhode Island. 

Domestic geese in general are polygamous to the extent of mat- 
ing with two to four females. 

In cold climates shelter during severe weather should be pro- 
vided, to guard against frozen feet. 

A quiet, docile goose does better than a shy one. 

The New York market depends more or less upon New Eng- 
land for her supply of green geese in the Summer. 

A gander and a couple of geese are sufficient to start with,, for 
their eggs, as a rule, are very fertile, and they are excellent sitters. 

Geese will come nearer living on pasturage and taking care of 
themselves than any other class of poultry. 

Goslings come in for the table as "green geese" in the Summer, 
and should be fine birds for the Michaelmas board. 

Rhode Island breeders have the reputation of producing the 
largest and best specimens of green geese. They are willing to take 



126 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

the necessary pains, and perform the necessary labor to give their 
goslings the necessary conditions ; and without these three neces- 
sary things it is vain to expect success, for it will never come. 
Geese do not require a high or tight fence. 
It costs about $1.00 a year to properly keep a goose. 
Dora Stephenson, in Wisconsin Farmer, says one reason why 
^eese are not used more in this country is because so many do not 
know how to dress and clean them. She has often heard the remark 
that a goose is not fit to eat, but a young goose properly cooked is 
a dish fit for a king. To clean take a common wash boiler, putting 
two bricks in each end, and pour in a gallon of water. Make a 
frame of lath to fit on top of the bricks, then when the center is boil- 
ing lay your goose on the frame and put on the lid to the boiler. 
5team it for about three minutes, or till the feathers come out, turn- 
.ng the goose when it has been in the boiler about two minutes. The 
feathers must pull easy as they do when a chicken is scalded. Now 
^et a thin sack of any kind and pick your feathers into it and hang 
them up to dry, when they will be fit to use the same as dry picked 
ones. To roast prepare the same as any other fowl. One of the 
patent roasting pans is best. When your goose has been roasting 
about two and one-half or three hours, take the pan out and skim of 
all the fat that is melted. If the goose is yonng it should be tender 
m four hours. The goose must be fat to be good. Miss Stephenson 
says she steamed over a hundred last Winter and sent them to the 
Chicago market, saving all the feathers. 

A low, marshy field with a little upland does splendid for geese. 

There is no chance for loss in goose culture if properly managed. 

Geese for Christmas should be on the market by December 
20th. 

In the Eastern markets green geese generally command broiler 
prices. 

Goose oil has served as a panacea for rheumatism, lumbago, 
stiff joints, sprains, etc., from time immemorial. 

An exchange says that while geese are a water fowl, by giving 
them plenty of fresh water to drink and keeping them away from 
the barnyard and stagnant water that accumulates there, geese can 
be raised with equally as good results as if raised on the banks of a 
stream. 

Among our most valuable breeds of geese, the Embden is one 
of the best, says Ohio Poultry Journal. The rivalry between it and 
the Toulouse has been sharp in past years, but the Embden seems 
the choice of late years, owing to its pure white plumage and ability 
to put on flesh rapidly. 

The Embdens excel in the value of their feather crop. 

Never pick geese when they will be exposed to cold weather. 

It will require about four geese to make a pound of feathers. 

The time to pick is when the quill of the feather is ripe or clear. 

Pick the geese in a closed room, as the least wind will scatter 
the down and feathers. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 127 

After being picked, it will take six weeks for the geese to grow 
and ripen a new crop of feathers. 

A pair of Toulouse geese, says the Fanciers' Review, will turn 
off about two dollars worth of feathers in a year. 

While the feathers are developing, the quill is filled with bloody 
matter, which is an evidence that it is not ripe. 

The Fanciers' Review gives this method for picking live geese : 
Having taken up your bird, draw a long bag or stocking over its 
head and down on its neck, as it will prevent it wreaking its ven- 
geance on you by its merciless biting. The wings are also formida- 
ble weapons and must be held or their blows will leave many black 
and blue marks as evidence of their power. When picking, take all 
the small feathers, leaving the large ones, except four or five under 
each wing, which prevents them from drooping; take off all the 
down only in warm weather. 

White goose feathers are more valuable than colored ones. 

Some geese raisers pluck their birds every four or six weeks. 

In Strasburg, a place celebrated for its pies, the geese have a. 
shepherd to tend them as sheep have. 

According to an experiment tried in Rhode Island, fall-sown 
rye, spring sown oats and peas, and sweet corn, will furnish pasture- 
sufficient for two hundred geese per acre. 

Matthieu, the cook of Cardinal de Rohan, was the first who sug- 
gested the use of the liver of the goose for pies. 

In Europe the liver of the goose is much esteemed, which is 
sold to pie makers who make of it the well known pies. 

Goose livers in Europe command as high as $4 per dozen. 

Newman thinks there is money in raising goose livers for the 
New York markets. 

Hanover. Ganze Biuste (Hanover smoked geese breasts) sell in 
Europe in the finest delicatessan stores at 80 cents to Si a pound. 

Vegetables and cut clover hay should be in the bill of fare. 

Geese are profitable layers up until 12 years of age. 

Feeding too much corn in winter unfits the birds for breeding. 

Too much grain induces too early laying, causing infertility of 

eggs. 

The gander don't have a curled feather in the tail, as does the 
drake. 

The first green goose in the New York and Boston markets- 
bring from 18 to 25 cents a pound. 

Mr. Newman says it is a wrong belief that geese or their drop- 
pings will kill grass or destroy a pasture. If you have a large flock 
of geese and a small pasture, they will clean it up. That is,. they 
will eat the grass as fast as it sprouts, and give it no chance to grow, 
just as a cow on a city lot will soon have only bare ground, and you 
have to tie her out in the road. If you could do the same with 
geese, you would find the grass coming again and growing as be- 
fore. 

Writing in the Country Gentleman, Prof. Samuel Cushman 
says : It is useless to attempt to raise geese successfully if they are 



128 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

afraid of the attendant. They should be treated with kindness and 
have full confidence in their keeper. A nervous, quick tempered, 
excitable, rough person may keep them so disturbed that they can- 
not thrive. 

Chas. F. Newman, in Reliable Poultry Journal, say the Tou- 
louse goose is the most profitable goose to raise. It grows the larg- 
est, matures the quickest, is not so much a rambler and flyer as 
■other kinds, and as it does not take so readily to water as other varie- 
ties, it grows more rapidly, and accumulates fat faster. Neither 
are they so noisy. 

When six or seven months old, or at maturity, says Mr. New- 
man, you can usually, by observation, tell the ganders from the 
geese. The male, in most cases, grows some larger than the female. 
The goose is deeper in the body, a trifle slimmer in neck, and smaller 
in head. The call of the gander is loud, long and shrill, while that 
of the goose is merely an answer to it. 

Ten geese will consume as much grass as a cow. 

Geese seek mates in February. 

The gander is a gallant protector. 
, It is hard to glut the goose market. 

Geese, like turkeys, cannot be yarded. 

The Jews buy only live geese. 

The average weight of goose eggs is about 5 1-2 ounces each. 

A goose is said to be the cleanest fowl alive. 

A goose is particular about the condition of her food. 

Geese have a great deal more sense than they are given credit 
lor, and they learn to know their attendants and seem to appreciate 
the care and attention they receive. 

A gosling at three months of age should dress 10 to 12 lbs., de- 
pending on the season of the year hatched, the breed, etc. 

The Journal of Agriculture says inbreeding is the greatest evil 
to be guarded against. Unless new blood is introduced into the 
flock once in every five years at least, the geese are sure to deteriorate 
to a serious degree. If the flock is well kept up, however, geese can 
readily be produced that will weigh from 12 to 18 lbs. a piece 
■dressed. 

Howard says the Toulouse is called a Christmas goose, as it 
matures just about right for the holidays. 

The Africans, Toulouse and Brown Chinas have black pin 
feathers, which make them difficult to pick when dressed as green 
geese. 

In cider making time a few bushels of seedling apples, that will 
keep well, should be laid by in the cellar for the geese, says, Amer- 
ican Fancier. It is worth all the trouble just to see the evident en- 
joyment with which they eat them, to say nothing of the promotion 
of their thrift. 

Ordinarily, not over two or three per cent of goslings should 
die after the second or third day, says Prof. Cushman. "Most ex- 
perienced goose raisers say they are about as sure to raise goslings 
as colts, accidents excepted." 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 129 

Goose dung brings a high price as a fertilizer in China. 

Ganders occasionally take very peculiar freaks, such as con- 
ceiving a violent attachment for some inanimate object, as a door, 
stone, a cart wheel, a plow, or something of a similar nature, when 
they will spend the greater part of their time sitting beside it or in 
its company. 

While the young gander often mates with 3 or 4 females, he 
usually has one particular favorite among the number, whose nest 
he guards more jealously than those of his other mates, and after 
some years he is liable to grow so inattentive to all but the favorite 
that many of the eggs produced prove to be infertile, and it is more 
economical to replace him with a younger bird. 

Geese are less liable to disease than any other domestic fowl, 
which, possibly, may count in some measure for their generally long 
life. 

Toulouse geese usually lay more eggs in a season than Embden 
or African geese, but not as many as the best China geese. 

There is a curious plan to determine sex adopted in Cam- 
bridgeshire. All the geese are shut in a stable or a pig stye ; a 
small dog is then put in. It is said, and we believe with truth, the 
geese will all lift up their heads and go to the back of the place, 
while the ganders will lower and stretch out their necks, hissing all 
the time. 

Morris relates a number of instances where ganders have be- 
come the inseperable companions of their masters, following them 
about the fields, on hunting expeditions, and into the streets of a 
town, like the most devoted dog. He also narrates how faithfully 
a gander discharged the self imposed duty of guardian and guide 
to an old blind woman. Whenever she went to church he directed 
her footsteps into safe paths by taking hold of her gown with his 
bill, and during the service he nipped the grass in the cemetery close 
by, until she required his services as guide to return home. 

Ganders fight among themselves whenever one colony intrudes 
upon the territory of another, and their battles are severely fought, 
usually with the wings, one gander seizing the other by the first 
joint of the wing with the bill, and beating him with his wings 
while thus held. 

Unlike gallinaceous fowls, the goose has practically no crop, 
although an enlargement of the end of the gullet next the gizzard in 
some measure serves to hold food, consequently it feeds at very 
frequent intervals, and during warm weather often eats more at 
night than during the day time, a point which should be remem- 
bered in feeding and caring for them. 

If, for any reason, the gander is separated from his mates and 
placed with others, he will seldom accept them so long as his old 
mates are anywhere within hearing distance, and, even when they 
are entirely removed from the premises, it frequntly takes some 
time before he will become reconciled to his new mates. 

Geese become attached to the locality in which they are kept, 
and are much disturbed when removed to a new location ; hence, 



*30 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

when such removal is necessary, or when a beginning is to be made 
in the keeping of geese, breeding birds should be placed in their new 
quarters some weeks before the laying season begins, or a good 
number of fertile eggs will probably not be obtained. 

Old geese, changed from their home surroundings to a new 
locality, will seldom do as well the first season as afterwards, unless, 
perhaps, the change has been made in the summer, after the close 
of the breeding season. 

By arranging with some goose breeder at the early part of the 
season — May or June — breeding stock can be selected from the 
number raised during the season, and in that way better birds ob- 
tained than later in the season. 

If the young geese can be brought to their new home in the 
autumn they will become well accustomed to their surroundings 
and feel at home before spring, and there will usually be no difficul- 
ty in mating. 

A piece of low swamp ground in which pond holes exist, or 
may be artificially made, is an excellent place for geese, and when 
a piece of dry upland can be also utilized for the same flock, it makes 
an ideal location. 

In purchasing geese in the market, the Jews, for some reason, 
always look for a bird with a yellow or orange bill, and a large 
wholesale poultry breeder states that it is almost impossible to sell 
a Jew a black-billed goose so long as he can find one having a light 
colored bill. 

In handling a goose, it should always be taken by the neck, and 
when lifted from the ground the body should be turned with the 
back toward the person handling it. In that position it cannot 
strike, and will remain quiet and docile. The body can be partly 
supported by seizing the first joint of the wing with one hand. If 
the goose is held facing one, it will strike hard blows with its wings 
or scratch with its feet. 

Breeding Season. 

It takes 30 days to hatch the goose egg. 

A goose covers her eggs with the nest material. 

Geese seldom become broody the first year. 

A goose should average 20 goslings in a year. 

Geese begin laying late in January, or early in February. 

Geese cannot be profitably hatched and reared artificially. 

Some breeders wash the eggs if covered with mud, while others 
do not. 

A good sized hen will cover five eggs, a goose from 9 to 13 
eggs. 

The goose will lay from 10 to 15 eggs and then sit diligently on 
them and seldom fails to bring off a good brood. 

A writer in an exchange places the cost from hatching to time 
of maturity, at from 50 cents to 75 cents per head. 

Goslings well hatched are seldom lost, except through accident 
or exposure to hard storms while still very young. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 131 

Any changes in the mating of geese should be made in the fall, 
or certainly before January, if the best results are expected. 

Two or three litters of eggs may be secured by "breaking up" 
the goose by shutting her in a pen for a few days when broody, and 
setting the eggs under hens. 

A writer in American Stock Keeper says that after the 28th 
day of incubation, goose eggs should be put in milk warm water a 
few moments each day. 

The shells of the eggs being tough, it is necessary to sprinkle 
them every now and then during the hatch, with luke-warm water. 

The eggs should be gathered as soon after they are laid as pos- 
sible, to avoid their being chilled. 

A goose is usually given 1 1 eggs for a sitting, although a very 
large one might cover thirteen. 

The fertile eggs usually hatch at the end of 28 or 30 days, but 
a longer time is occasionally required. 

When each goose has her own nest she can easily be set at the 
end of the second or third litter as desired. 

After the eggs have been incubated for about 7 to 10 days they 
can be tested, and the infertile ones taken out. 

The eggs should be kept in a moderately warm place, not too 
dry, and should be turned over every day until set. 

Children should never be allowed to approach geese during 
incubation, as they are capable of inflicting serious injury. 

If the nests of the geese are properly provided with straw, the 
eggs will never be sufficiently soiled to require washing. 

Five to seven eggs, according to the size of the hen, are 
enough, as they require considerable heat, and should be well 
covered. 

Hens are generally used to hatch the first eggs, and for this 
purpose quite large hens, as Brahmas or Cochins, are generally pre- 
ferred. 

The early-hatched goslings must be kept from severe cold at first. 
As they come out they should be brought into a warm room and 
wrapped in flannel until all are hatched, says Farm Journal. The 
best time to take the young out of their wraps and put them with 
the hen is in the evening. 

"Great laying in geese is not to my mind any recommendation," 
says an old breeder, in American Stock-Keeper. "I prefer a goose 
that will lay a good sitting — say from 12 to 15 eggs — and then sit 
down and hatch them and bring off her flocks to the fields as soon 
as they can be trusted to ramble far from home." 

Whether your goose eggs are set under hens or turkeys, they 
should be sprinkled during the incubating period, says, Prof. Cush- 
man, in Country Gentleman. In this section it is done twice per 
week after the fifteenth day, and more freely just before the twenty- 
eighth day, when they commence to hatch. 

The broody goose plucks off more or less down from her breast 
with which to line the nest and cover the eggs whenever she leaves 
them. 



132 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

Usually the vitality is somewhat affected by keeping - eggs too 
long, and the goslings are not so strong and active as when hatched 
from fresh-laid eggs. 

A basement, or a fairly close building, where a reasonably mild 
and uniform temperature can be maintained, makes an excellent 
place for setting hens on goose eggs. 
( The shells and lining membranes of goose eggs are thicker and 

tougher than those of hens' eggs, and care has to be exercised that 
they do not become too dry. 

The ganders should be left with the geese during incubation. 

It is well to place food and water near th* nest of the sitting 
goose at hatching time, so that she will be less likely to leave the 
nest before all the goslings are hatched. 

Eggs under a goose seldom need attention, as more or less mois- 
ture is brought to the nest when the goose bathes, as she will at 
intervals, if allowed the opportunity. 

Many breeders sprinkle the eggs and nest during the last two 
weeks of incubation, and still others dip the eggs into water instead 
of sprinkling them. Some use lukewarm water, others use cold 
water. 

It is better that one person should care for the geese regularly, 
and he should be quiet and gentle in his movements, so as to gain 
the confidence of the flock and make them as tame as possible. The 
advantage of this will be evident when the geese wish to sit during 
incubation, and while the goslings are small. 

After the goose has been a day or two on the nest, and it is 
desired to break her up from broodiness, she can be taken off and 
put in a coop, which should be large enough so that she can stand 
erect. If she is confined here, at a little distance from her mates, 
• she will usually abandon the idea of sitting after 5 or 7 days, and 
when released will shortly begin laying again. 

Ganders, during the breeding season, and even the geese when 
sitting, or in defence of their young, manifest considerable courage 
and often punish intruders severely. When interfered with they 
seize the intruder with the bill, strike with the wings, and some- 
times scratch with the claws. They have sufficient power in the 
jaws to bite quite hard, and a large, full grown gander has been 
known to strike hard enough with the wings to break a person's 
arm. 

In setting a chicken-hen with goose eggs, Mr. Newman says, 
the hen will set all right, but when the young ones break the shell, 
and the hen sees a green little creature with a long, wide bill salut- 
ing her, she takes it for a freak or nature and off comes its head ! 
Not many hens will claim the young geese, so take the goslings 
away as they hatch and try the hens, giving them to a good slow, 
gentle mother. As soon as she takes them without any fuss there 
is no further danger. 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 133 

Goslings : Care arid Feedirig. 

Do not overfeed the young. 

Goslings should be protected from storms or from sudden 
showers. • • • - "* ^ A? ° ta: 

Northern flint corn, finely cracked, is preferred by- some feeders 
of goslings. 

Wire netting, one foot wide and one inch mesh, makes a good 
fence for goslings. 

After four or five weeks old, feeding at morning and at night 
will prove sufficient. 

Care should be taken not to overcrowd, as the young are liable 
to injure or even kill one another. 

Some breeders use a few sweet beef scraps in the food when 
young are four or five weeks old. 

The young should be confined at night where they are safe from 
the attack of rats, weasles or minks. 

Grass is the natural food for goslings, and where the supply is 
abundant less grain fod is required. 

If hatched before the grass starts in the spring, the care of the 
goslings is rather a difficult matter. 

The goose will take excellent care of her young brood, and need 
not be disturbed until time to feed them. 

When goslings are hatched in incubators, they can be readily 
cared for by using some good artificial brooder. 

Sharp sand, saturated with water, should be provided in a shal- 
low dish where the young can help themselves at any time. 

The bottom of the brooder should be covered with fine sand, 
which should be changed so that it may be dry and clean. 

The very early goslings are more valuable than those later 
hatched, because they mature earlier and are the first to be ready 
for market. 

As soon as the quill feathers have developed upon their backs, 
goslings will be out of danger from injury through getting wet in 
showers or storms. 

At the end of two or three weeks, and much less time than that 
after June 1st, the brooder can be dispensed with altogether, in 
using artificial, methods. 

In extremely hot weather, or in the bright sunshine, goslings 
are liable to become sunstruck, and should be provided with shade 
from the heat of the sun. 

Goslings require to be kept indoors, and on an earth floor, if 
possible, and should be provided with some kind of green food, as 
chopped lettuce or cabbage. 

As the weather becomes warm, the goslings can be allowed 
free access to water, in which they can swim if they choose, without 
danger of getting chilled. 

While small, the young should be fed 4 or 5 times a day, and 
when 10 days' old a little food may be put into the building when 
they are shut up for the night. 

When the flight feathers of the wings have grown sufficiently 



134 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

to reach nearly to the tail, the goslings are ready to sell to the fat- 
tener or to be penned up for fattening. 

When goslings are with a hen they should be given the same 
opportunity to feed upon tender grass, which promotes their 
growth more rapidly than anything else. 

It is best to give a fresh supply of bedding every day, as it 
soon becomes soiled and wet, and young goslings are liable to con- 
tract rheumatism from sleeping upon it. 

The Western Rural says that eggs fed to goslings should not 
be boiled too hard ; just so the yolk is sticky. 

Mr. Brabazon says if you want to teach a gosling to eat, you 
must do so by throwing the food in water. 

At 10 weeks' of age, or when the tips of the wings reach the 
tail, young geese are ready for market and should weigh between 8 
and 9 pounds. 

Goslings make the greater part of their growth upon grasses 
or fodder plants, and can thus be more economically produced than 
poultry which requires to be almost exclusively grain fed. 

J. R. Brabazon, of Delavan, Wis., says goslings will not eat for 
the first three or four days. Then he gives them tender young let- 
tuce or grass sprinkled in water. 

A New Jersey raiser feeds his young goslings johnny cake the 
first two weeks. After that he feeds scalded shorts, bran and corn 
meal, to which is added a liberal amount of ground beef scraps. 

In hatching goslings artificially, the first day or two the in- 
cubator should have a temperature of 90 to 93, which may soon drop 
to 80 to 85, according to the weather conditions. 

The building in which the young are confined should be pro- 
vided with a sufficient supply of cut straw or hay to cover the floor, 
and this should be frequently changed. 

When hatched they do not require feeding until they are 24 or 
36 hours old. Oats may be sown in shallow boxes of earth, and 
their tender blades make a good substitute for grass. 

One point should be remembered — the water dish should never 
be allowed to become empty for any length of time, whether while 
the goslings are small or at any time during their life. 

Goslings, while small, are covered with down, which seems to 
have little power to shed water, and soon becomes wet, and the 
goslings become chilled and soon die, unless thoroughly dried and 
warmed. 

If the supply of grass or green food is scanty, the goslings 
should be fed more frequently and a larger quantity, as goslings, to 
be profitable must be kept growing from the time they are hatched 
until sold. 

If the weather is pleasant the young should be given every op- 
portunity to feed upon short, tender grass, and, if kept indoors by 
severe storms, a few sods or bunches of short grass will be greedily 
accepted. 

As a rule, goose breeders calculate to have the first goslings 
hatched about the time the grass begins to grow in the spring and 



Money in Broilers and Sqaabs. 135 

the weather becomes sufficiently mild to allow the young goslings, 
to be put out of doors. 

Goslings with a goose may be confined by three boards, 10x12 
feet in length, and a foot wide, set upon edge, making a triangular 
pen. This pen can be moved as frequently as the goslings eat up 
the grass and require a new pasture. 

A good feed for young goslings is scalded, finely cracked Indian 
corn, with a little sweet Indian meal or bran mixed with it. It 
should not be wet and sticky, but just enough water should be added 
to make the dough have a crumbly consistency. 

The old goose will seldom cause any trouble by deserting her 
goslings. She should be placed a little distance from other geese, 
and especially her mates, or they may cause trouble by jumping 
into the pen with her, to the great danger of the goslings. 

After the goslings are 10 days' old, the goose and her flock 
can be allowed to roam at will in a pasture with short grass, al- 
though it is better that the goslings do not have an opportunity to 
swim, as they are liable to become chilled by the cold water. 

Water should be provided the young gosling in a shallow dish, 
in which a few pebbles or bits of coal have been placed, or some 
other provision made to prevent the young goslings from getting 
into the water, and getting the soft down, with which they are 
covered, wet, thereby becoming chilled. 

Some hens become restless on the nest, and are liable to kill 
the young goslings by treading upon them. In such cases it is well 
to give the goslings to a more quiet hen, or perhaps remove them to 
a well-lined basket or box by the kitchen fire, where they can remain 
during the day, to be returned to the hen at night. 

Goslings occasionally get "cast." That is, they fall upon their 
backs by accident, and are unable to get up. A goose at such a time 
has sufficient instinct to turn the goslings over with her bill, but 
the hen fails to comprehend the necessity of this, and it is always 
well for the attendant to count his goslings at every feeding time, 
when, if one is missing, it may, perhaps, be found alive, and re- 
turned to the flock. 

It will sometimes happen that you will hatch and raise a gosling 
with a broken wmg. It is no serious fault at all, only a misforma- 
tion in the egg: Mr. Newman says if it is a nice, large, promising 
bird do not kill it, nor be apprehensive that it will breed broken 
winged birds, for it will not. If the looks of it be unpleasant to you, 
take a sharp knife and sever the crooked part at the joint. Bandage 
it and it will soon heal, and you will never note the difference after- 
wards. You will generally find such to be the largest birds. 

Fattening. 

In Europe finely ground oats or barley mixed with milk is used 
for fattening. 

When the weather is warm, goslings eat less, and consequently 
fatten more slowly. 

Geese for fattening should be penned upon high, gravelly soil, 
or land that will not become muddv in wet weather. 



136 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

In fattening goslings during the warm weather of summer, pro- 
visions should be made for as much air as possible. 

A pen for fattening 50 geese should be 40 feet or more square, 
and should be bare of green crops and provided with shelter from 
the sun. 

Goslings, while being fattened, should be kept as quiet as pos- 
sible. They should not be disturbed by the presence of strangers 
or dogs. 

Decayed stumps, or pieces of partially rotted wood, are greedily 
eaten by geese when fattening, and a moderate supply seems to do 
them good. 

White flint corn or white cornmeal is prized by some who be- 
lieve that it produces a whiter flesh or fat which gives the bird a 
more desirable appearance. 

No shelter from rain is required in the fattening pen during 
the summer or fall weather, and geese are almost never fattened for 
market during the winter. 

It is better to have two pails, each half full of water, in the fat- 
tening pen than one filled to the top. Goslings can then only get 
water for drinking which is all that is desired. 

A quick way to fatten geese is to put a few in a darkened pen 
and feed a pound of oats per day to each one. They fatten in two 
weeks. 

The fattening of green geese should begin when the flight 
feathers of the wing have grown sufficiently to reach the tail. 

It is difficult to fatten mongrels properly until the cool weather 
of Fall when they fatten readily, about the same course being pur- 
sued as in the fattening of other goslings. 

Goslings hatched in July and kept until January or February, 
and then fattened and put on the market, will be classed by the 
dealers as old geese, and bring a very inferior price. 

Several hundreds may be fattened in a pen together, provided 
it is sufficiently large for them, and that proper care is exercised in 
distributing the food and water so that all can share alike. 

Geese intended for market are usually fattened and killed not 
later than the middle of November, at which time the dealers put 
large quantities in cold storage for the winter and spring trade. 

Care should be taken that the scalded food is always sweet, 
and does not stand long enough to become sour and unwholesome. 
It should be scalded just long enough before wanted for feeding to 
become entirely cooled. 

One large dealer writes that when real cold weather arrives 
the flesh and muscles of both sexes rapidly harden and become 
tough, so that, when kept into the winter and then killed, they do 
not give satisfaction to the consumer. 

When penned for fattening, goslings may be fed for one or two 
days quite moderately, in a way to prepare them for the regular fat- 
tening ration. During this time they can have a little green food, 
and such grain food as they have been accustomed to. 

Since the almost universal use of cold storage, some dealers are 
having even their mongrel geese for the Christmas trade fattened 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 137 

and killed at Thanksgiving- and kept a month in cold storage, in- 
stead of having them killed at Christmas as was formerly their cus- 
tom. 

Any goslings which are not fat when taken from the fattening 
pen- are usually allowed to run outside for a week or two, where 
they have plenty of green food and only a moderate amount of 
grain, and are afterwards put in the fattening process a second time. 
The cornmeal and the beef used in fattening food should be of 
the very best quality, and mixed in the proportion of one part of 
scraps to four parts of meal, by measure, and a little salt should be 
added, just enough to season it, care being taken not to use too 
much. 

Some fatteners, about two hours before killing the birds, allow 
them to eat what they will readily consume of sweet, fresh, green 
food, like green oats or sweet corn. They claim that this fills the 
birds up, and they present a more plump appearance and sell better 
in the market. 

It requires usually from 17 to 20 days' steady feeding to fatten 
goslings. If fed much longer than that their appetites are likely to' 
fail, and they are also inclined to molt, which of course seriously 
interferes with fattening, and would also make the bird hard to 
pick and unsatisfactory when dressed. 

Some kinds of geese are more nervous when confined in the 
fattening pens than others, and at times a flock will get in the habit 
of running from side to side of the pen, or "churning," as the fat- 
teners term it, when the least unusual thing occurs. Under such 
circumstances they fatten very indifferently. 

Goslings should be slaughtered when taken from the fattening 
pen or soon afterward. They should never be shipped or carted 
away from the place alive. If this is done and they are then- 
dressed, the fat will have a dark appearance, as though the birds- 
were not in a good, healthy condition, and they will hardly be sale- 
able. 

For fattening, feed scalded dough, made from Indian cornmeal 
and sweet beef scraps. Water should be provided in pails or 
buckets, giving them a fresh supply three times daily, but only 
sufficient for them to drink, and not enough for them to attempt 
to bathe, as water spilled around the pen is apt to make the ground 
muddy, and any unnecessary exercise is hindrance to fattening. 

Feed in the morning what dough the goslings will not eat up 
in an hour after feeding. At noon feed whole corn in the same way, 
but at night a considerable larger quantity of dough can be given 
them, as they will eat more sometimes during the night, when the 
weather is cooler, than during the whole day. A little powdered 
charcoal should be mixed with the dough about twice a week. If at 
any time more dough should be given than is eaten up, remove it 
from the pen before giving them a fresh supply. 

The following method in fattening is adopted by an English 
goose farmer : Geese in good condition should be shut up in a quiet 
place, shaded from the light, where they cannot see other geese at 
libertv, and should be kept there from 20 to 25 days. It is beneficial 



138 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 

to let them out for about 15 to 30 minutes first thing in the morning 
and again in the evening before dusk. The meals they get should 
be nutritious, and a mixture of barley-meal, wheatmeal, a little 
cornmeal and boiled potatoes given warm twice a day is good. 
About the last ten or twelve days it is advisable to mix a little finely 
chopped rough fat with the meal. This has the effect of plumping 
them up, rendering their flesh much more palatable. A trough of 
clean water should be supplied to the birds after the evening meal. 

Killing and Picking. 

Green goslings are never drawn for market. 

In picking mongrel geese, the tail feathers should be left on the 
bird. 

Professional pickers usually receive 10 cents each for picking 
green geese. 

Young geese should be well fed the night before they are to be 
killed for market. 

Care should be taken not to tear the flesh, as the skin of some 
goslings is very tender. 

Some fatteners feed freely of some sweet green food, like oats 
or sweet corn, about 2 or 3 hours before killing. 

Appearance has much to do with the selling value of geese, as 
well as of any product put upon the market. 

The feathers from 45 green geese, dressed August 29th, weighed 
I2§ pounds after steaming and drying. 

Expert pickers can dress from 20 to 30 birds in a day, depend- 
ing, of course, upon whether they are hard or easy to pick. 

When large numbers of green goslings are dressed, the feathers 
form no inconsiderable part of the income from fattening. 

Removing the pin feathers one by one is, of course, a slow pro- 
cess, but it has to be done that the birds may present a good ap- 
pearance. 

In picking, only the salable feathers are put into the box, the 
wing and tail feathers and soft pin feathers being thrown upon the 
floor. 

Before packing, the goslings should be removed from the bar- 
rels of ice water and laid upon boards or benches to allow the water 
to drain from them. 

The feathers from a mature gosling will weigh about one-fourth 
to one-third of a pound, but green goslings, if quite young, do not 
yield as many feathers. 

The room to be used for dressing geese should be provided 
with a box to receive the feathers, at which two pickers can con- 
veniently sit, one on each side. 

For killing, a stout knife with a double-edged blade about 4 
inches long, tapering to a point something the shape of a dagger 
blade is commonly used. 

A common shoe-knife is most convenient for removing pin 
feathers, and should be kept very sharp, as a razor edge is neces- 
sary to do quick and satisfactory work. 

Birds with dark feathers, particularly of Brown China, and 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 139 

sometimes of African blood, pick harder and tear more easily than 
Embden or other white-feathered varieties. 

The feathers should be picked from the lower third of the neck, 
leaving about two-thirds of the length of the neck next to the head 
unpicked. The wing feathers beyond the first joint are also left. 

The wings are pressed slightly toward the back in tying, and 
their natural elasticity forces the breast meat and fat upwards so 
that the bird looks plump, if well dressed and the cord is tight. 

Goslings are shipped to market by packing in boxes or barrels 
with broken ice. The quantity of ice used depends upon the tem- 
perature of weather at the time and the distance to which they have 
to be shipped. 

In warm weather, when green goslings are usually dressed, 
they are kept in barrels of ice and water until sent to market. The 
birds should be freshly packed in ice and clean water as soon as the 
bodily heat is thoroughly taken out of them. 

Sugar barrels are often used for shipping. One or two holes 
should be bored in the bottom to allow surplus water to drain away. 
A good layer of ice should be used at the top of the barrel, which 
can then be covered with two or three thicknesses of burlap. 

Scalding is seldom practiced where birds are to be shipped and 
kept for some time before being sold ; but where birds are 
slaughtered for immediate sale in a nearby market, the picking is 
made very easy by scalding. The feathers, however, are of no value. 

In packing the head of the gosling is placed against the side of 
the bird, which is then packed back downward on a layer of cracked 
ice in the box or barrel. After enough have been packed to make 
a layer, cracked ice is put in and another layer placed upon them 
until the package is full. 

The shrinkage in dressing goslings is comparatively small, as 
only the blood and feathers are lost. It occasionally happens that a 
specimen will absorb sufficient ice water so that the dressed weight 
will equal the live weight of the bird. As a rule, however, the 
shrinkage is about 5 per cent, of the live weight. 

Where ducks and geese are sent to markets requiring them 
drawn, they may be scalded ; then wrap them in a cloth for two 
minutes, when the feathers and down will come off clean. 

It is said- that it is much harder to dress a gosling in cold 
weather. The feathers set tighter, and in picking them the flesh is 
torn. 

Farm and Home says those intending shipping should send to 
dealers in poultry for modes of preparing for market, since modes 
differ in different sections. 

In dressing Canada geese for market, the feathers of the head, 
two-thirds or more of the neck, the wings and tail are left on the 
bird, and serve to identify and guarantee the genuineness of its 
breeding. 

The feathers should be spread in some clean, dry, airy place to 
cure. If placed upon the floor of a loft they should be turned over 
with a fork every few days until thoroughly dried. If put in bags 
and well steamed they are more valuable, as the steam in a measure 



140 Money h% Broilers and Sqicabs. 

purifies them and removes somewhat of the oily odor which they 
otherwise have. 

When many pin feathers are -found on the birds, they have to 
be removed with a sharp knife. White pin feathers can be shaved 
off, as the part remaining in the skin will not show, but black pin 
feathers must be removed entirely. The operator takes the skin 
of the bird between the fingers of the left hand and makes a slight 
longtitudinal cut in the skin on the side of the pin feather, when it 
can be easily removed. 

As soon as the bird is picked the blood is rinsed from the head 
and mouth, the bird is placed upon its back, and a string tied tightly 
around the middle of the body, pressing the wings firmly against 
the sides. Fairly stout, white cotton twine is generally used for 
this purpose, but mongrel, geese, for the Christmas trade are some- 
times tied with a narrow colored tape, or braid, which adds some- 
what to the appearance of birds designed for a fancy trade. 

Some fatteners break down the breast bone before tying. To 
do this the bird is laid on its back on a solid bench, the breast is 
covered with several thicknesses of damp cloth, and two or three 
blows on the breast-bone given with a wooden paddle made from a 
piece of smooth oak board, about an inch thick and perhaps six 
inches wide. Just enough force should be used to crush down the 
rib bones, so as to settle the breast bone down somewhat, the ob- 
ject being to give the breast a plump, meaty appearance. After the 
wings are closely tied against the body, and the blood has been 
rinsed from the head, the bird is immersed in ice water, barrels 
usually being provided for this purpose. 

Where birds are scalded all the feathers are removed, including 
those on ihe neck and wings left on when the bird is dry picked. 
This allows the housewife to use the whole neck and wings in cook- 
ing, so that the shrinkage in drawing would be a little less from this 
method of picking than from dry picking. 

Josephine Morse, in Poultry Topics, gives this method of killing 
and picking geese ; hang the goose up by the feet where it cannot 
bruise itself. Stick a narrow-bladed sharp knife through the neck 
close to head. Be sure to sever the veins, but make as small a wound 
as possible. Let the goose hang till dead. Have a boiler little more 
than half full of boiling water ; throw in one pail full of cold water ; 
take the goose in one hand, dip in the water three times and then 
wrap in an old bag or carpet to steam a few minutes. Then with 
the thumb and fingers remove the feathers and down at once by de- 
ginning at the head. Finish by singing with a blaze made with 
shavings, as there will be less smoke. Then wash in rather warm 
soap suds and dip in cold water. A small vegetable brush is nice 
for the purpose. 

Practically, all the geese sold in Boston and New York markets 
are dry picked, but for some markets scalding is practiced. In that 
case the birds are dipped quickly into hot water, sometimes alter- 
nating the dipping with cold water, and the birds while moist with 
the hot water are wrapped tightly for a few moments in cloth. The 
operation must be carefully done, so that the head will loosen the 



Money in Broilers and Squabs. 141 

feathers and yet not scald the skin so that it will break in picking. 
Experience is required to perform the operation successfully. 

The bird to be killed is taken by the operator and held between 
his knees, the head resting in the left hand ; a firm cross cut is then 
made in the upper and back part of the mouth, severing the main 
arteries of the head. The bird is then taken by the legs, and a 
quick, sharp blow on the head with a flat paddle, made from some 
hard wood, stuns the bird. Picking begins immediately. The opera- 
tor sits in a chair beside the box, with the bird back down across his 
knees, the head being firmlv held between the knee and the side of 
the box. The feathers are first removed from the under part of the 
bird, beginning at the abdomen and working toward the breast. 
All the feathers should be removed as the work progresses, ex- 
cepting possibly a few pin feathers, which will have to be taken out 
later with a knife. The down can be best removed by wetting the 
hand and passing it quickly over the skin of the bird. 



INDEX. 



BROILERS. 

Age, broiler, 10. 
Air cells, 24. 

outdoor. 54. 
American Poultry Food, 47. 
Animal food, 47, 58. 
Asparagus chickens, 16. 
Baking soda, 54. 
Barley, 49. 
Beef trimmings, 49. 
Bone, granulated, 49, 56. 
green cut, 48. 
meal, 54, 58. 
Bowel disease, 36, 39, 43, 53, 54, 62, 63. 
Bran, 47, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 63. 
Bread crumbs, 47, 49, 53, 56. 

waste, 49. 
Breeding stock, 42, 49, 67. 
Broiler age, 10. 

farm, an exclusive, 9. 
requirements, 11, 12, 15. 
runs, 31. 
Broilers and eggs, 19, 38. 
birthplace of, 5. 
breeds for, 10, 11, 42. 
celery-fed, 47. 
dry-picked, 64. 
eggs and fruit, 38. 
fattening, 52. 
Philadelphia, 11. 
plumping, 64. 
preparing for market, 63. 
scalded, 64. 

shipping to market, 66. 
shrinkage, 63. 
squab, 13, 16, 17, 21. 
Brooder heat, 30, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 50. 

houses, 35, 39, 43, 45. 
Brooders, 30, 31, 35, 37, 43, 50. 
capacity of, 31, 32, 42. 
care of, 44. 
carpeting, 32. 
condition of, 35. 
floors of, 36, 52. 
greenhouse, 32. 
outdoor, 32. 
painting for lice, 32. 
Broody hens vs. incubators, 33, 43, 46. 
Buckwheat, 49. 
Burlap for roofing, 59. 
Cabbage, 49, 52, 53. 
Canary seed, 46. 
Capacity, brooder, 31, 32, 42. 
Capital, too little, 7. 
Carcass, drawn, 13, 14. 
Carelessness, 7. 
Care of brooders, 44. 
Carpeting brooders, 32. 
Celery, 47. 

fed broilers, 47. 



Cellar for incubators, 23, 28, 34, 41 
Charcoal, 46, 47, 49, 50, 53, 54, 56, 63. 
Chick grit, 44, 46. 

manna, F. P. C, 54. 
Chicks, care of, in brooders, 39, 43, 44, 49, 
52, 53, 54. 
chilled, 50. 
costive, 63. 

dead in shell, 26, 30, 40, 41. 
diarrhoea in, 36, 49, 63. 
fatality among, 42. 
gapes in, 54. 

leg weakness in, 36, 39, 48, 50. 
lice on, 37, 54, 59. 
removing from incubator, 26, 28, 

34, 37. 
stunted growth in, 57. 
weak, 58, 63. 
Chickens, asparagus, 16. 

doctoring, 39. 
Chilled chicks, 50. 
eggs, 6, 24. 
Clover, green cut, 56. 

hay chaff, 50, 56. 
meal, 46, 47, 49. 
Coal ashes, 49. 
Commission merchant, 16. 
Cooling eggs, 23. 24, 25, 28, 29. 
Corn cake, 49, 53, 54. 55 63. 

cracked, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 

58, 63. 
meal, 46, 47, 49, 50, 53, 54, 56, 58, 63. 
Costiveness, 63. 
Cost of producing eggs, 19. 

of production, 9, 37. 
Cottonseed meal, 47, 52. 
Cracked corn, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56. 
58, 63. 
oats, 47, 4S, 49. 
wheat, 47, 49, 52, 53, 56, 63. 
Cripples, 29, 63. 
Crop, size, of chick's, 46. 
Crows, 18. 

Dead in shell, 26, 30, 40, 41. 
Debt, 6. 

Diarrhoea, 36, 49, 63. 
Doctoring, 39. 
Douglas Mixture, 54. 
Drawbacks, 18. 
Drawn carcass, 13, 14. 
Drooping wings, 57, 58, 59. 
Dry-picking, 64. 

vs. scalding, 64. 
Eggs, air cells in, 24. 

cooling, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29. 
cost of producing, 19. 
evaporation in, 25, 3S, 40. 
fertile, 34, 40, 41, 67. 
handling, 30. 
hard-boiled, 46, 49, 53, 55, 56, 63. 



INDEX. 



Eggs, heat in, 28, 29, 30. 

helping chicks out, 35. 
holding for hatching, 26, 27, 30, 12. 
infertile, 25, 34. 
placing in incubator, 24, 30. 
raw, 53. 58. 

selecting, 27, 34, 37, 42. 
sprinkling, 23. 
stale and chilled, 6, 24. 
supplying incubator, 42, 43. 
testing, 23, 30, 34. 
turning, 23, 24, 26, 30, 34. 
Evaporation in eggs, 25, 38, 40. 
Failures, what they taught, 5. 

why the, 5, 6, 40. 
Fatality among chicks, 42. 
Fattening broilers, 52. 
Fed, when first, 53, 56. 
Feed, condition of, 54. 
dry, 47, 55. 

scalded, 47, 49, 52, 63, 54. 
troughs, 54, 56. 
Feeding, mistakes in, 15, 46. 

regularity in, 46, 47, 48, 50, 52. 

54, 56. 
rule in, 46, 47, 50. 
Felt roofing, 60, 62. 
Fertile eggs, 34, 40, 41, 67. 
Floors of brooders, 36, 52. 
Flour, second grade, 48, 53, 55. 
Food, American Poultry, 47. 
cooked, 48, 55. 
cost of, 9, 37, 46. 
dishes, 52, 56. 
remaining over, 56. 
sour, 46. 
F. P. C. Chick Manna, 54. 
Fountains, drinking, care of, 46. 
Gapes, 54. 
Germ, 63. 

Granulated bone, 49, 56. 
Gravel, 53. 

roofing, 62. 
Green cut-bone, 48. 
cut-clover, 56. 
stuff, 47, 48, 53, 56, 63. 
Grit, 44, 46, 47, 53, 56, 63. 
Ground oats, 47, 49. 
Growth, stunted, 57. 
Hatch average incubator, 25. 
condition of, 36. 
when to,, 37. 
Hatches, per cent, 41. 
Handling eggs, 30. 
Hard-boiled eggs, 46, 49, 53, 55, 56, 63. 
Heat, brooder, 30, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 50. 

in eggs, 28, 29, 30. 
Hearts, sheep or cattle, 49. 
Helping chicks out of eggs, 35. 
Hens vs. incubators, 43. 

vs. pullets for broilers, 37, 67, 68. 
Hot-water incubators, 8, 42. 
Hulled oats, 47, 54. 
Incubator, average hatch, 25. 
cleaning trays, 27. 
cellar for, 23, 28, 34, 41 . 
eggs, business supplying, 42 

43. 
placing eggs in, 24, 30. 
points of success, 27. 
record for, 27. 



Incubator, removing chicks from, 26, 28, 
34, 37. 
room, 25, 26, 28, 41. 

ventilation, 23, 28, 34. 
selecting, 28. 
shifting trays, 27. 
ventilation for, 37, 38. 
Incubators, first steps with, 41. 
hot water, 8, 42. 
moisture in, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 

29, 30, 34, 38, 40, 41, 43. 
value of, 33, 37, 41, 43. 
vs. hens, 43. 
Inexperience, 7. 
Infertile eggs, 25, 34. 
Johnny cake, 49, 63, 54, 63. 
Lamps, care of, 23, 24, 25, 28. 

oil for, 23. 
Land, amount required, 38. 
Lawn clippings, 46. 
Lice, 37, 54, 59. 

in brooders, 32. 
Leg weakness, 36, 39, 48, 50. 
Lettuce, 46, 53. 
Linseed meal, 48. 
Livers, sheep or cattle, 49. 
Mangolds, 56. 
Markets, 12, 16. 
Meat meal, 47, 48, 49, 54, 63. 

scraps, 46, 47, 48, 49, 53, 56. 
Middlings, 47, 49, 54, 55, 56. 
Milk, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53. 54, 55, 57, 63. 
Millet,' 46, 47, 50, 52, 56. 
Moisture, 24„ 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 38, 

40, 41,' 43. 
Molasses, 52. 
Neponset roofing, 59, 62. 
Nursery, 53. 

Oats, cracked, 47, 48, 49. 
ground, 47, 49. 
hulled, 47, 54. 
rolled, 47, 49, 50, 53, 56, 63. 
Oatmeal, 49, 53. 
Oil for lamps, 23. 
Onion tops, 46, 53. 
Overcrowding, 7, 59. 
Outdoor brooders, 32. 
Oyster shell, 47, 49, 53, 56. 
Painting brooders for lice, 32. 
Parent stock, 12, 37. 
Paroid roofing, 62. 
Pepper, 52, 54. 63. 
Philadelphia broilers, 11. 
Plumping, 64. 

Potatoes, cooked, 47, 49, 54. 
raw, 49, 52. 
roasted, 53. 
Poultry Meal, Spratt's Patent, 55. 
Prices, market, 8, 9, 13. 
Range, 11. 
Rape, 56. 
Raw eggs, 53, 5S. 

Red Rope Neponset Roofing, 59, 62. 
Refrigerator stock, 12. 
Removing chicks, 26, 28, 34, 37. 
Rented ground, 7, 18. 
Requirements, 9, 16, 19. 

broiler, 11, 12, 15. 
Rice, boiled, 63. 

Rolled oats, 47, 49, 50, 53, 56, 63. 
Roof, cheap, 59, 60. 



IT 



INDEX. 



Hoofing, 59, 60," 62. 

burlap, 59. 

felt, 60, 62. 

gravel, 62. 

Paroid, 62. 

Red Rope Neponset, 59, 62. 

slate, 62. 

Swan's Standard, 62. 

tar paper, 60. 

tin, 62. 
Huns, broiler, 31. 
Salt, 52, 54, 55. 
Sand, course, 49, 54. 
Scalding, 64. 

vs. dry-picking, 64. 
.Scratching material, 50. 
Shingles, 59. 
Shipping, pointers on, 14. 

to market, 66. 
Shrinkage, 12, 63. 
Slate roofing, 62. 
Spratt's Patent Poultry Meal, 55. 
Spring chickens, 12, 13. 
Sprinkling eggs, 23. 
Squab broilers, 13, 16, 17, 21. 
Stale eggs, 6, 24. 
Straw, 50. 
Sulphur. 54. 

Swan's Standard roofing, 62. 
System, lack of, 7. 
Tagging, 11. 
Tar paper roofing, 60. 

Temperature for hatching, 23, 24, 25, 27 
28, 33, 36, 42, 50. 
Testing eggs, 23, 30, 34. 
That tired feeling, 7. 
Thermometer, 24, 28. 
Tin roofing, 62. 
Trays, cleaning, 27. 
shifting, 27. 
Trimming wick, 23. 
Troughs, feed, 54. 
Tuberculosis, 19. 

Turning eggs, 23, 24, 26, 30, 34. 
"Ventilation in incubator room, 23, 28, 34. 

in incubator, 37, 38. 
"Warmth, first week, 50. 
Waste bread, 49. 

"Water, drinking, 46, 47, 53, 54, 56, 63. 
"Weak chicks, 58, 63. 
"Weight, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17. 
"Wet weather, 18. 
Wheat, cracked, 47, 49, 52, 53, 56, 63. 

whole, 49, 54, 56. 
Wick, trimming, 23. 
Wing, cutting, 57, 58. 

feathers, pulling, 57. 
"Wings, drooping, 57, 58, 59. 



PIGEONS, 

Aviary, 72. 
Bath, 72. 
Bath tubs, 72. 
Birds, mated, 75. 
Breeding life, 75. 
Canada peas, 75, 76. 
Charcoal, 75, 76. 
Corn, cracked, 75, 76. 
Kaffir, 75, 76. 



Disinfectant, 70, 76. 
Dragoon, 74, 75. 
Dressing, mode of, 73. 
speed in, 73. 
Failures, cause of, 75. 
Feed, 75. 

amount to, 76. 

cost of, 76. 

time to, 76. 
Feeding, 75, 76. 
Fly, 72, 76. 

Fountains, care of, 76. 
drinking, 76. 
Grit, 75. 
Hemp, 75, 76. 
Homers, 70, 72, 74, 75. 
House, 72, 76. 
Inbreeding, 75. 
Kaffir corn, 75, 76. 
Lice, 70. 

preventive, 70. 

wing, 70. 
Lime, 76. 
Millet, 75, 76. 
Mortality, 75. 
Oyster shell, 75, 76. 
Packing, mode of, 74. 
Parents feeding squabs, neglectful, 75. 
Peas, Canada, 75, 76. 
Persian Insect Powder, 72. 
Pigeon milk, 76. 
Plumping, 73. 
Quarantine, 72. 
Runt, 75. 
Salt, 75, 76. 
Sawdust, 70., 
Sexes, 74. 
Shipping, 74. 
Snuff, 72. 
Squabs, number of, 72. 

parents feeding, 76. 
weak and puny, 75. 
Start, making the, 74. 

time to, 75. 
Tobacco stems, 72. 
Trough, 76. 

Water, drinking, 75, 76. 
Wheat, 75, 76. 
Whitewash. 75. 



DUCKS. 



Apoplexy, 95. 

Artificial methods, 84, 95, 105. 

Barley meal, 93. 

Bedding, 79, 82, 83. 95, 99. 

Beef scraps, 79, 80, 83, 86, 88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 

97, 99, 104, 105, 106. 
Beets, 86, 88, 104. 
Bonemeal, 93. 

Bran, 79, 83, 86, 87, 88, 93, 94, 96, 97, 99. 
Bread crumbs, 80, 83, 86, 88, 105. 
Breeding, age of, 78, 103. 

stock, 78, 79. 83. 84, 86, 87, 88, 94, 
95, 96, 99, 103. 

capacity of, 80, 103. 
weight of, 103. 
Broiler ducklings, 94. 
Brooder, cold, 80. 

size of, 79, 89. 



INDEX, 



Brooding, SO, 82, 87, 90. 97, 105. 
Cabbage, 86, 94, 96, 99, 103, 104. 
Capital required, 83. 
Carrots, 103, 104. 
Cayenne pepper, 84 
Charcoal, 79. 
Chinese trade, 94. 
Clover hay, 79, S3, 86, 96, 106. 
Corn, 83, 93, 96, 99. 
bread, 87. 
fodder, 103, 106. 

meal, 79, 83,, 86, 87, 88, 93, 94, 96, 97, 
99, 104, 105. 
Cracker crumbs, SO, 87, SS. 
Cramps, 95. 
Dandelion, 93. 
Diarrhoea, SO, 87. 
Diseases, contagious, 84. 
Disinfectant, 85. 
Dressing, 78, 79, 85, 95, 98. 
cost of, 95. 
speed of, 79, 98. 
Driving, 85. 

Ducks, average number raised, 88. 
how to handle, 86. 
land, 79, 84. 

saleable market, 80, 90, 97. 
selling live, 94. 
shrinkage in, 95. 
yellow-skinned, 79, 97. 
white-skinned, 79, 97. 
Ducklings, removing from incubator, 97. 
teaching to eat, 82, 105. 
weight of, 82, 86, 92, 94, 95, 
97, 106. 
Egg organs, inflammation of, 85. 
production, 82, 86, 88, 99. 104. 
tester, how to make, 97. 
Eggs, cooling, 94. 

fertile, 79, 80, 86, 89, 93, 95, 96, 99, 

104, 106. 
for hatching, 83, 84, 90, 95. 
hard-boiled, 86, 87, 88. 
sale of infertile, 97, 104. 
testing, 97. 
washing, 79, SO, 84. 
Failures, 88, 106. 
Fattening, 80, 83, 90, 92, 93, 94. 
Feather-pulling, 79. 
Feathers, market value of, 95. 

weight of, 80. 
Feeding breeders, 83, 85, 95, 96, 103. 

ducklings, 78, 79, 80, 83, 86, 87, 

88, 93, 94, 97. 
grain, 78. 

Feet, cold, 84. 

Fish, 102. 

Flour, 83, 84, 87, 105. 

Food, amount consumed, 82, 87, 103. 

cost of, 79, 87. 

soft, 78. 

tainted, 93, 96. 
Giddiness, 89. 
Gluten, 103, 105. 
Grain feeding, 7c'. 
Grass, 104. 
Green ducks, cost of, 80, 87, 1C0. 

■prices of, 78, 9S, 100, 102. 
weight of. 73. 



I Green food, 79, 83, 86, 88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97 
105, 105. 

Grit, 84, 86, 88, 96, 99. 

Groats, 93. 

Hatching, 84, 85, 89, 92, 94, 95, 96, 105. 

Heat of brooder, 82, 87. 

House floor, 79. 

Housing, 82, 84, 95, 96, S9, 104. 

Incubator, temperature of, 82, 89, 92, 96. 

Jewish trade, 94. 
I Keel, 84, 103. 
I Labor, 84, 90, 100, 103. 
I Land, S3. 
! Laying, 78. 86, 99. 104. 

season, 79, 84, 103, 104, 105. 
i Leg weakness, 78, 85, 89, 94. 
! Lettuce, 93, 186. 
! Manure, 90, 103. 
• Mating, 78, 79. 85, 86, 104, 105. 
1 Maturity, age of, 84. 

Milk, SO, 87, 93, 97. 106. 

Moisture in hatching, 85, 89, 97. 

Molting. 79. 96. 

Mortality, causes of, 84, SS, 89, 90, 94. 

Nervousness, 84, 85, 86, S7, 105. 

Oats ground, 83, 96. 99. 103. 104, 105. 

Onion 93. 

Overcrowding, 79. 

Over fat. 84, 95. 

Oyster shell, 78, 79, 84, 96, 99. 

Pekin ducks, 86. 95. 

Pin feathers, 95. 

Pioneer days, 100, 102. 

Potatoes, 86, 88, 96, 99. 

Profit and loss, S3, 8? 

Rain storms, 82. 

Range, 79. 

Requirements, 95. 

Rice, 93. 

Rolled oats, 83, 86, 88. 

Rye, green, 99, 103, 104. 

Salt, 86. 

Sand, feeding, 78, 86, 87, 88, 93, 99. 

Shade, 78. 

Shipping, 86, 95, 98. 

Shorts, 83, 103. 104, 105. 

Snowy weather, 82. 

Soil, 84. 

Spasms, 89, 94. 

Stench, 85. 

Stock, breeding, 78. 

Success, rules for, 82, 90. 

Sun, 78. 

Troughs, 105. 

Turnips, 83, 86, 88, 96, 99, 103, 104. 
i Water, bathing, 79, 80, 84, 85. 
drinking, 78, 79, 86, 92. 
for ducklings, 78. 
Weakness, 80. 
Wheat, 93. 

Wings, twisted, 79. 
Yards, purifying, 79. 
size of, 90. 



87, 94. 



GUINEA BROILERS. 



Demand, 108. 
Weight, 10S. 



INDEX. 



TURKEYS. 

Acorns, 110. 
Age, delicate, 115. 
Air, fresh, 112, 114, 116. 
Alive, selling, 119. 
Appetite, loss of, 115. 
Artichokes, 110. 
Artificial methods, 112. 
Ashes, 113, 119. 
Barley, 114. 

meal, 110, 114, 117. 
Beetroot, 110. 
Bowel trouble, 114. 
Bread, wheat, 112. 

stale, 119. 
Breast, crooked, 110, 117. 
Breeding stock, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118. 
Broilers, turkey, 107, 110, 116. 
Buckwheat, 114, 118. 

meal, 110, 114. 
Butter, 115. 

milk, 108, 109. 
Charcoal, 109, 112, 113. 
Cheese, Dutch, 110. 
Chestnuts, 110. 
Clabber, 108. 
Cleanliness, 112. 
Club-foot, 109. 
Coal oil, 113. 
Condition powder, 114. 
Confinement, 109, 116, 117, 119. 
Constipation, 109. 
Corn, 108, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119. 

cake, 108. 

cracked, 112, 114. 

meal, 109, 110, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119. 
Coops, care of, 119. 
Crop, fermentation in, 112. 
Cruelty, 118. 
Curd, 110, 119. 
Delicacy, cause of, 115. 
Dew, 115. 

Disease, prevention of, 109. 
Dressing, 119, 120. 
Drooping, 112. 
Dry-picking, 109, 118, 120. 
Dust bath, 119. 
Egg record, 115. 
Eggs, fertilization of, 113. 

hard-boiled, 119. 

infertility in, 112. 
Exercise, 116, 117. 
Pat, minced, 117. 
Fattening, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114 116, 

117. 118. 
Feathers, growth of, 115. 
marketing, 114. 
saving, 119. 
wing, 116. 
Feeding, 114, 115, 117, 118. 

young, 108, 110, 112, 117, 118, 119. 
Filth, 109. 
Floors, 118. 
Flour, 115. 
Food, 109. 

Fountains, drinking, 119. 
Foxes, 117. 
Gapes, 109. 

Gobbler, 109, 112, 113, 114. 
Grass, 112, 117, 118. 
seed, 119. 



Gravel, 112, 118, 119. 

Grit, 112, 114, 117. 118. 

Handling, 110, 113. 

Hatching, 108, 110, 112, 115, 117. 

Hawks, 117. 

Health, sign of, 118. 

Illness, signs of, 109. 

Inbreeding, 109, 117, 119. 

Indigestion, 117. 

Insect:-:, 118, 119. 

Killing, 109, 113, 114, 118, 119, 120. 

Lard, 113, 115. 

Liberty, 114, 116, 118. 

Lice, 109, 113, 119. 

Lime, 112. 

Locality, 112. 

Mangolds. 110. 

Marketing. 110, 113, 116, 117, 119, 120. 

Mating, 113, 115. 

Maturity, 113. 

Meat, 119. 

Middlings, 117. 

Milk, 108, 109, 114, 117, 118, 119. 

sour, 109. 
Mortality, 109, 112. 
Moth balls, 113. 
Nests, for sitting hens, 113. 
Oat meal, 112, 117. 
Oats, 109, 110. 
Onions, 119. 
Overfat, 112. 
Overfeeding, 117, 118. 
Packing, 119, 121. 
Patience, 112. 
Pepper, black, 115, 119. 
red, 108. 109, 115. 
Perches, 110, 116. 
Pills, Carter's Little Liver, 115. 
Plumping, 120. 

Potatoes, 109. 110, 114, 116, 118. 
Range, 116. 117, 119. 
Red, shooting the, 113. 
Roosting, 110, 114, 116. 
Sand, 112, 119. 
Scalding, 120. 
Sex, distinguishing, 113. 
Shipping, 108. 119, 121. 
Stock, changing, 109. 
Swedes, 110. 
Sweet, oil, 109. 
Turkeys, Maryland, 118. 

Philadelphia, 118. 
Underfeeding, 118. 
Ventilation, 112. 
Walnuts, 110. 
Water, 110, 113, 117, 118. 
Weights, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117. 
Wheat, 112, 118. 
Whiskey, 112. 
Wine, 112. 
Wing feathers, 116. 



GEESE. 



African geese, 124, 128, 129, 139. 
Age of geese, 122, 123. 
indication of, 124. 
Apples, 128. 
Artificial incubation, 130. 133, 134. 



V 



INDEX. 



Attachment, 124, 125. 

Bailey, ground, 135, 138. 

Bedding, 134. 

Beef scraps, 133, 134, 137. 

Boston geese, 124. 

Bran, 123, 134, 135. 

Breast-bone, breaking the, 140. 

Breasts, Hanover smoked, 127. 

Breeding geese, 124, 130. 

Brooder, 133. 

Broodiness, 130. 131, 132. 

Brown China geese, 124, 125, 128, 129, 

Cabbage, 133. 

Canada ganders, 123, 124. 

geese, 139. 
Carcasses, drawn, 138, 139. 
Care, 128, 132, 133. 
Cast, getting, 135. 
Charcoal, 137. 
Christmas, 126, 136. 
Clover hay, cut, 127. 
Cold storage, 136. 
Confinement, 126, 128, 133, 135. 
Cooking geese, 126. 
Copulation, 124. 
Corn, 127, 133, 135, 136, 137. 

meal, 123, 124, 134, 136, 137, 138. 

sweet, 127, 137, 138. 
Crop, 129. 
Demand, 123. 
Disease, 129. 
Domestication, 125. 
Dressing, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141 . 
Boston, 124. 
expert, 124, 138. 
Droppings, 127, 129. 
Dry-picking, 124, 140. 
Eat, teaching to, 134. 
Egg production, 124, 125, 127, 130, 131. 

record, 123. 
Eggs, average weight of, 128. 

boiled, 134. 

fertile, 124, 125, 131. 

gathering, 131. 

holding for hatching, 131, 132. 

infertility of, 124. 

moisture of, 132. 

sprinkling, 131, 132. 

testing, 131. 

washing, 130. 
Emden geese, 124, 125, 126, 129, 139. 
Fat, 138. 
Fattening, 134, 135, 136, 137. 

establishment, 123, 124. 
pen, 136. 
time for, 137. 
crop of, 126, 127, 138. 
Feathers, preparing, 139. 

marketing, 124, 126, 127. 
weight of. 138. 
Feeding, 127, 129, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138. 
Feet, frozen, 125. 
Fence, 133. 
Food, 128, 136. 
Gander, wild, 122. 
Ganders, 127, 129, 132. 

bravery of, 125, 128, 129, 132. 
Canada, 123, 124. 
freaks of, 129. 
treatment of, 126. 



Geese, African, 124, 125, 129. 

age of, 122, 123. 

Boston, 124. 

breeding, 124. 

Brown China, 124, 125, 129, 138. 

Canada, 139. 

Christmas, 128, 136, 140. 

cooking, 126. 

cost of keeping, 126. 
cost of raising, 130. 

Embden, 124, 125, 126, 129, 139. 

Graylag, 124. 

Green, 122, 125, 126, 127, 128, 136, 138. 

marketable, 123. 

peculiarity of geese, 129, 130. 

Rhode Island, 125. 

Toulouse, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129. 

White China, 124, 129. 
Goose oil, 123, 126. 

the bill of a, 125. 
Goslings, 133. 

feeding, 133. 

treatment, early, 131, 133, 135. 
weight of, 128. 
Grass, 133, 134. 
Graylag geese, 124. 
Grazing, 125, 127. 
Green geese, 122, 125, 126, 127, 128, 136, 138. 

price of, 127. 
Handling, 130. 

Hatching, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135. 
Hebrew trade, 123, 128, 130. 
Herding, 127. 
Inbreeding, 128. 
Incubation, artificial, 130, 133, 134. 

time of, 130, 131. 
Johnny cake, 134. j 

Killing, 123, 124, 137, 138, 140, 141. 
Land for geese, 126, 130, 135. 
Laying season, 130. 
Lettuce, 133, 134. 
Livers, value of, 127. 
Market, Boston, 124. 

New York, 123. 125, 
Marketing, 128, 134, 136, 140. 
Mating, 124, 125, 128, 129, 131. 
Meat, 123, 124 133. 
Michaelmas, 123, 125. 
Milk, 135. 
Moisture, 132. 
Mongrels, 124, 136, 140. 
Mortality, 123, 130, 134. 
Mules, 124. 

Nervousness, 125, 137. 
Nests, care of, 131. 
Oats, 127, 134, 137, 138 

ground, 135. 
Oil, goose, 123, 126. 
Overcrowding, 133. 
Packing for shipment, 138, 139. 
Pasturage, 125, 127, 128, 133. 
Peas, 127. 
Picking, 126, 127. 

price of, 124, 125, 138. 
Pin-feathering, 140. 
Potatoes, boiled, 138. 
Product, average, 124, 125, 130. 
Quills, 125. 
I Range, 135. 
I Rheumatism, 134. 

VI 



INDEX. 



Rye, 127. 

Salt, 137. 

Sand, 133. 

Scalding, 139, 140. 

Sex, distinguishing, 12S, 129. 

Shade, 133. 

Shelter, 125. 

Shipping, 138, 139. 

Shorts, 134. 

Uhrinkage, 139, 140. 

Sitting, size of, 131. 

Sunstroke, 133. 

Temperature of incubation, 134. 



Testing eggs, 131. 

Toulouse geese, 124, 125, 126. 12S, 129. 

Trade, foreign, 123. 

Hebrew, 123. 
Vegetables, 127. 
Washing eggs, 130. 
Water, 126, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138. 
Weight, dressed, 128. 
Wet, getting, 135. 
"Wheat meal, 138. 
White China geese, 124, 129. 
Wing, broken, 135. 
Wood, decayed, 136. 




BRED TO LAY IN FALL 
AND WINTER 



THE 



WHITE WYANDOTTES 



AS BREO BY THE 



are each year carefully mated and bred so as to 
produce the finest 

BROILER CARCASSES 

The Egg Records are excellent, running as high 
as 180 Eggs per Hen, per annum, in a flock. 



EGGS FOR HATCHING : 

.50 per 15. #4.00 per 50. 



Eggs for sale at all seasons of the year. Breeding 
stock for sale. Address: 

CHAS. K. NELSON, 

Proprietor Central Poultry Farm 

HAMMONTON, ATLANTIC COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. 



Bred for Eggs and Meat 



BusinessWhiteWyandottes 

For years we have carefully mated and improved our strain, 
and believe we have to-day 

The Most Practical Stock in America 

They are steady Winter layers, quiet in disposition, strong 
and hardy in constitution, and in every sense thorough busi- 
ness fowls. 

We aim in mating to secure lay-down combs, bay eyes, yellow 
legs, good shape and a neat appearance. 

WE BREED FOR 

Good Egg Records Yellow-Skinned 

Brown Eggs Carcasses and 

Good Sized Eggs Plump Bodies 

WE USE TRAP NESTS 

so that we can pick out the best layers and breed from them 

Eggs for Hatching: $1.50 per 15; $4.00 per 50; $ 8.00 per 100. 
Selected Brown Eggs, 2.00 " 5.00 " 10.00 " 

STOCK FOR SALE AT ALL TIMES 



LIGHT BRAHMAS 

Our Light Brahmas are equal to any strain on the market. 
Good hackle, black tail and wing, good size, bay eye, low comb, and 
excellent Winter laying are the qualities which we guarantee. 

Eggs for Hatching: $2.00 per 15; $5.00 per 50; $10.00 per 100. 

SEND FOR CIRCULAR. 

MICHAEL K. BOYER, 

Proprietor Bellevue Poultry Yards, Hammontoh, New Jersey 



Plymouth Rock Squab Co. 

CAPITAL STOCK, $100,000.00. ELMER C. RICE, Treasurer. 



Farm at Melrose, Mass., Eight Miles North of Boston. 

Business Office, 287 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Mass. 



We were the pioneers in squabs; our books, our methods and our breed- 
ing stock revolutionized the industry. In 1904 we did double the business 
of 1903; the outlook for 1905 is as good. Our farm and Boston salesroom 
have tripled in equipment and capacity during the past sixteen months. 
We sold more Homers in 1904 than all other pigeon breeders and dealers in 
the United States combined. There is a reason for this; come to our farm 
and see; look around before buying. Our Homers are the standard for com- 
parison and imitation. Nobody is more willing, or can do more, to supply 
more satisfactory Homers, than we can; we have the experience, the capi- 
tal and the birds. We sell a full line of squab-breeders' supplies. 

Write for our free book, "How to Make Money With Squabs," a "Price 
List," and "Letters from Customers." Ask for all of them when you write. 

ADDRESS t 

PLYMOUTH ROCK SQUAB CO., 

287 ATLANTIC AVENUE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 

1000 URGE, MATED, GUARANTEED HOMERS, CHEAP! 

Reduced Express ; Circular Free ! 

B Ornamental Pigeons, all breeds, $2.00 Pair 
Forcing Squab Breeding, easiest way catching 
pigeons, tell male from female, most effective lice 
destroyer, etc., 30c. by mail. I pay above market 
price and express of my stock raised. 
Beautiful Book on Pheasants (30 Varieties) 

ttc. 60 pages, 75 photo cuts, 73c. 
Sporting Paper says: "The neatest, most instructive Book on Pheasants. It will sell 
immensely." FERD. SUUOW, Hyde Park, NEW YORK. 



MICA-CRYSTAL CO., Concord, N. H. 

SOIvE MANUFACTURERS OF 

MICA-CRYSTAL GRIT 

Containing Silica, Aluminium, Iron and Magnesiam. Always Sharp and Self- C harpen- 

ing. The - tandard Poultry Grit of America. Now commencing its !2th Season. 
Will make your hens digest their food properly, and by using plenty of it, you will 
always find them in good health. There is nothing better for poultry than Mica- 
Crystal Grit. Do not try anything else, but get the real thing. For samples, cir- 
culars and prices, write to the 

MICA-CRYSTAL CO., Concord, N. H. 



First 

10 days 

Food 




.AND... 



CHICK MANNA 



TURKEYS 



INTRODUCED 1884 



It regulates, supports and strengthens the fine and tender organs of the 
little creatures in a very desirable manner during the most critical period. 
"They not only like it, but thrive wonderfully on it."— M. K. Boyer. It pre- 
pares them for the more ordinary grain feed. The remarkable and pleasing re- 
sults have merited high praise for F. P. C. Chick Manna, North, South, East 
and West. 

Testimonial, Booklet and Printing Matter Free on Application. Prepared 

F. P. CASSEL, Lansdale, Pa. 

Manufacturer of the F. P. C. Success Chick Feed, Remedies for 
Cholera, Roup and Gape Diseases, &c, &c. 




The wonderful simplicity of the Wooden Hen and the greatly increased 
production forced by its immense sales, makes it possible to offer this per- 
fect hatcher for Si 2.80. Self regulating and guaranteed to hatch as large 
a percentage of eggs as any other hatcher at any price. Send for the free 
illustrated catalogue wit^ ' colored views. CEO. H. STAHL, Qulricy, III 




AKE MONEYS 

hatching Chickens with" 
the (Jem Incubator. thatyjfc 
low-priced, high-grade.' 
absolutely-reliable, up-i 
to-date Hatcher. Sure' 
profits. Now is the time^ 
, to prepare for the early 
I hatching season. Writer 
H| to-day for a beautiful^ 
* ^^MaS tIB* catalogue FIvKE. 

d ^sHbHBSSi j ■■'' GEM INCUBATOR CO. f 

W ^^*«""*B" Boa Dayton, Ohio' 




ULTRY AND AGRICULTURAL BOOKS 

We can supply any book not out of print. Send for 
catalogue. MICHAEL K. BOYER, Hammonton, N. J. 




Poultry 
Supplies 

We are the largest Poultry Supply House in the world 
and sell everything pertaining to rearing and breeding 
Poultry, Pigeons and all kinds of Pet Stock. 

We manufacture the famous 

Empire State Incubators and Brooders, 

The $5.00 Russ Prize Winning Brooder 

SOLE NEW YORK AND EXPORT AGENTS FOR 

Prairie State Incubators and Brooders, 
Star Incubators and Brooders 

All Makes of GREEN BONE CUTTERS and GRINDING MILLS 
WIRE NETTING and FENCING 

Oyster Shells Grit Charcoal 

Lambert's Death to Lice 

Banner Chick Food Chick Manna 



The Greatest Egg Producer and Health Preserver known, 

Banner Egg Food and Tonic 

and thousands of other things that we cannot mention here, but are 
fully described in our immense Illustrated Poultry Supply Catalogue, 
mailed free anywhere. , 

Every Poultryman should have our catalogue, as it is the most 
complete one published. 

Excelsior Wire and Poultry Supply Co., 

W. V. RUSS, Prop. 26 and 28 Vesey St., NEW YORK CITY. 

V — . 



UP-TO-DATE 

POULTRY 
SUPPLIES 



Our department of "Poultry Supplies" 
grows and grows. Our new catalogue of these 
goods, just issued, is replete with good things 
for the poultryman. 

Shall we send you a copy ? 

If you want eggs in the winter, when they 
bring good prices, you must feed your poultry 
scientifically. 

If you want broilers early, when they sell well, 
you must hatch them in an Incubator. 

The CYPHERS is the best Incubator. 

"Be Up-to-T)ate. 
JOHNSON & STOKES, 

SEEDSMEN, 
217-219 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa. 




OUR LATEST BOOK 

"Poultry Plant 
Construction" 

Is the only complete work of its kind. 
It i'lustrates Poultry Birldings on 
plants that are in Actual and Suc- 
cessful Operation, and it contains 
complete 

WORKING PLANS AND ACTUAL COST OF 
PRACTICAL POULTRY BUILDINGS 

Including Incubator Houses, B ooder Houses, Laying Houses, Duck Houses, Colony 
Houses, etc. Price One Doilar; but it is free to purchasers of Latest Pattern Stand- 
ard Cyphers Incubators. 

If you have not already received a copy, send for large main annual catalogue of 
Incubators, Brooders' and Poultrymen's Necessities, manufactured and 
for sale by 

CYPHERS INCUBATOR COMPANY, BUFFALO, N. Y. 

BRANCHES: Chicago, New York, Boston, Kansas City and San Fran- 
cisco, U. S. A. , and London, England. 



r 



"\ 



THE SUCCESSFUL 

POULTRY PAPER 

becomes such through the belief of a whole lot of people , that it will give 

them the kind of information they need to make 

them successful poultry keepers. 

FARM-POULTRY 

SEMI-MONTHLY 

is a shining example of what constitutes a "Successful Poultry 
Paper." Established in 1889, it has been and is an unfailing, prac- 
tical, helpful aid to the utility as well as the fancy poultry keep- 
ers all over the country. Tiirough its enterprise in securing origi- 
nal matter and illustrations, its tireless energy in digging deep into 
all matters which promise to yield results of value to its readers; 
its quick approval and support of ways and means shown to be 
good, and its promptness to condemn fads and unpractical 
schemes, which would prove deterimental to the poultry interests, 
"Farm -Poultry" has come to be regarded as a safe, sure guide 
for poultry keepers who seak success, and through its careful, 
conservative conduct, has established an enviable reputation for 
reliability. Special attention is called to our practice of printing 
"show reports" in full, whether winners are our advertisers and 
subscribers or not. Will not such a paper as we have described 
be helpful to you? 

Pubished TWICE A MONTH (\ U I U CjCTV PC&ITO SAMPLE COPY SFNT FREE 
(24 times a year) for U 1 1 L I T • l I I U k II 1 O ON REQUEST. 

FA ^POULTRY PUB. CO., BOSTON, MASS. 




MACHINE FOR POULTRY AND SQUAB RAISERS. 

IT WILL PREPARE EVERYTHING NECESSARY FOR THE FEED 

Wilson's New Green Bone, Shell and Vegetable Cutters make rich egg-pro- 
ducing food of green bones, scraps, grit, clam or oyster shells, and all kinds of 
vegetables— wonderfully increase poultry growth, weight and health. Wilson's 
Bone Mills make cheap fertilizer— 1 to 40 H.P. Wilson's Farm Feed Mills grind 
fine, fast and easy. 

WILSON BROS., Sole Manufacturers, Easton, Pa. 

The Farmer's Delight is a Short Drive to Market 

By hard gravel roads! This is what you get 
when you select an 

Absecon Highlands Farm 

Just across the meadows from Atlantic City, Rich loam soil, pure drinking 
water, gently rolling land, perfect drainage. There's a Fortune Here for the 
Farmer, Gardener, Florist and Poultryman who buys a 

5-ACRE FARM FOR $150 

Payable $5 Down, Balance $1.50 Weekly 

Send for illustrated Booklet, "The Light That Guides to Wealth." Tells 
you all about it. 

GILBERT & O'CALLAGHAN, 703 Walnut 




In the fall and winter Is worth a 
barrel In hot weather. There's a 
way that never fails to fetch eggs 
when they're wanted, and that la to 
feed, once a day, In a warm mash 

§heric!c&nfs 

CONDITION 



Ift helps the older hens, makes 
pullets early layers, makes gloss/ 
plumage on prize winners. If you 
can't get it we send one package, 
25 ots.; rive, 81. 2-lb. can v 81.20; six 

for 85. Ex. paid. Sample poultry paper free. 

I. S. JOHNSON & CO.. BOSTON, MASS. 




The following method of feeding is 
based upon experience : — Every morning 
feed early a warm mash, made as directed 
below. Every noon feed whole oats, 
barley or buckwheat. Every night feed 
whole wheat — corn when very cold. The 
cooked mash should be made as follows : 
— Mix thoroughly (while dry), in a barrel 
or box, equal parts of corn meal, shorts, 
wheat middlings and ground oats. Take 
two quarts of this dry mixture, add to it 
one quart of well cooked vegetables, 
such as potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots, 
table and kitchen scraps ; add a little salt 
for seasoning. To the ■whole, in a pail, 
add three heaping teaspoonfuls of Sheri- 
dan's Condition Powder; then with 
boiling hot water mix the whole into a 
mash until the dry meal is well scalded. 
Do not have it 6loppy, but a crumbly, 
well cooked mash. Feed while the mash 
is warm. The above is enough for 30 to 
40 hens, unless of large Asiatic breeds.\ 



POULTRY REQUISITES 

Cyphers Incubator Company 

BUFFALO, N. Y., U. S. A. 

FIVE BRANCH HOUSES (See Below MORE THAN IOOO AGENTS 



SIXTY ARTICLES FOR POULTRYMEN 

CTPHERS COMPANY SPECIALTIES.— Goods of our exclusive manufacture— 
NOW NUMBER MORE THAN 60 USEFUL ARTICLES. They embrace every- 
thing that the poultry raiser needs for his best success. BEAR IN MIND that 
every article we list here is of our own manufacture. We know all about what 
goes into these goods and guarantee their quality. 

Special Winter Ready- Mixed Poultry Foods 

CYPHERS SCRATCHING POOD.— An all grain, sound grain balanced ration. 
Feeding it assures healthy fowls, fertile eggs and lots of them. 

CYPHERS LAYING FOOD.— A palatable ground-meal mixture. Analyzed and 
balanced for heavy egg yield. In addition to grains, contains meat and clover. 

CYPHERS CHICK FOOD.— Made of steel-cut, sound grain, free from waste. 
No other food will raise an equal percentage of chicks. 

PUT UP IN SEALED BAGS BEARING CYPHERS TRADE MARK. SEE THAT 

SEAL IS UNBROKEN. 

CYPHERS ROUP CURE— CURE GUARANTEED.— Prevents and cures common 
colds, discharge from nostrils, "swelled head," canker, etc., IN ALL POULTRY. 
Is used by dissolving in fowls' drinking water; '50c. package makes twenty-five gal- 
lons of medicine. We pay postage. 

CYPHERS MEDICAL CASE.— GUARANTEED EFFICACIOUS.— Ten stand- 
ard poultry remedies in a strong case. Recommended by the highest medical au- 
thorities. Remedies in tablet form given in drinking water. Guaranteed perfectly 
safe. 

Standard Lice Killer and Disease Preventive 

During the winter, when fowls are confined, there is a great need to disinfect 
their quarters. DON'T NEGLECT THIS WORK. 

CYPHERS LICE PAINT.— Kills all lice and parasites on poultry and other 
stock. Easy to use, perfectly safe, extra strong. Agents wanted in every poultry 
neighborhood. 

Trade (NAPCREOL) Mark.— THE STANDARD DISINFECTANT —A non-poi- 
sonous fluid that kills germs, destroys odors and prevents disease. Used for poul- 
try and in the household. 

ADDITIONAL to the foregoing, we manuafcture and offer for sale Alfalfa 
and Clover products; Portable Poultry Houses; Five Styles of Brooders; Safety 
Brooder Stoves; Revolving Egg Cabinets; Three Styles of Drinking Fountains; 
Dry Food Hoppers; Grit and Shell Boxes; Nodi Charcoal (in cartons); Poultry 
House Heaters; Brood Coops; Chick Shelters; Pedigree Trays; Pedigree Nest Box- 
es; Water Proof Sheeting; Save-All Egg Preservative; Fumigating Candles; Ovi- 
Napthal Nest Eggs; Caponizing Instruments; Anti-Lice Roost Hangers; Leg 
Bands; Chick Markers; Egg Testers; Drinking Cups; Egg Cases; Egg Packages; 
Shipping Coops; Food Cookers; Cramming Machines; Machines; Spray Pumps, 
etc. 

OUR 1905 CATALOGUE: Largest and finest book we have issued; 212 pages, 8x11 
inches. Six special chapters on profitable poultry keeping. More than 450 illus- 
trations, including latest portraits of 150 best known authors, judges, fanciers, 
owners and managers of the world's largest and most successful poultry plants. 
One hundred pages devoted to illustrated description of Cyphers Incubators, 
Brooders, poultry foods, alfalfa and clover products, poultry books and other sup- 
plies. Articles you need in order to achieve the maximum of success with the 
minimum of expense and labor. ADVANCE SHEETS ready for mailing Decem- 
ber 10. COMPLETE BOOK will follow to each address January 1st, 1905; not a 
day earlier nor a day later; FREE, postpaid to every reader of this "special an- 
nouncement" who will send us his name and the names and addresses of two 
friends or acquaintances who are interested in poultry for profit. Mention this 
paper and address nearest offce. 

BELLEVUE POULTRY SUPPLY CO. 

« 

Hammonton, New Jersey. 



LV PREPARATION NOW. WILL BE ISSUED WITHIN 3 MONTHS 

ANOTHER BOOK OF MICHAEL K. BOYER (Uncle Mike) 

On "DWARF FARMS" 

showing the different ways in which small farms of 3 to 5 acres have been 
run by working and professional men from the towns and cities. Pointing 
out how these people secured by means of them a living under healthy and 
pleasant conditions with a minimum of investment and risk. 

This book will treat of the growing of vegetables and fruit, of the keep- 
ing of poultry and bees, of the raising of a few pigs or cows by and for the 
household, of the methods of acquiring land and buildings cheap and on in- 
stalments, and of the ways in which the small farmer can obtain work for 
his spare time. 

The book will cost 50 Cents. Send your orders for it to Michael K. Boy- 
er, Hammonton, New Jersey, or to "Farm-Garden and Poultry" Publishing 
Company, 608 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Mini A Mil CCCn The ° nly Balanced Ration for 
mlULnNU ILLU Poultry in the World. 

TEN BRANDS— Each for a specific purpose. 

Each one complete in itself— NO ACCESSORIES. 

Intelligent Feeding of Poultry always returns a profit. Improper feeding does 
not. It costs no more to feed right than wrong. The nutritive ration must be 
balanced to meet specific requirements. Our booklet, "The Science of Poultry 
Feeding," tells you all about it. "We will also send you, on request, our booklet, 
"Poultry Fattening Perfected," which describes our new 

POULTRY CRAMMING MACHINE 

and method of use; also trough feeding, and our special brand of GRENADIER 
MEAL, the only Perfect Feed on earth lor this purpose sold under a specific guar- 
antee. Write for them at once and get posted. 

Tie MIDLAND POULTRY FOOD CO. 

GUINOTTE AND EUCLID AVE. KANSAS CITY, MO. 

JOHNSON & STOKES, Agents. Philadelphia, Pa. 

MEAT MEAL FOR FEEDING TO POULTRY. 

Meat furnishes protein or nitrogenous food, so much craved by corn fed fowls, 
the bone furnishes the phosphoric acid and lime required by laying hens.— 
Baugh's Farmers' Almanac, 

The above is an extract from an annual publication by Baugh & Sons Com- 
pany, Philadelphia. This concern prepares and sells the article, mentioned. 
The product is composed of specially s- elected meat and fresh market bone to 
which some of the meat adheres. The crude material is gathered daily by Baugh 
& Sons Company from butchers and treated or rend«red while fresh. The mois- 
ture and excessive grease are extracted by pressure. The crackling is then 
ground, put in bags ready for shipment. The analysis shows about 57 to 60 per 
cent, protein, 16 to 17 per cent fat. 

It therefore is an animal nitrogenous product, made from pure, clean, fat- 
enclosing tissue. 

For poultry, mix with fresh grains or with corn meal or wheat brand, moisten 
with water, using from one-eighth to one-quarter of the meat meal by weight,, 
and feed at regular intervals. 

The benefits of this animal food for poultry are probably the most pronounced 
of any in the whole range of its use as a food as well for cows, hogs, dogs, etc. 

When meat meal is fed to poultry, especially during the winter it makes, 
blood to heat the fowl and adds vitality; feathers no longer fall out. The hen 
is comfortable and commences to lay and continues doing so as long as kept in 
good condition. 

For further information address 

BAUGH & SONS COMPANY, 20 S. Delaware Ave., Phila. 



\!Wi 



Every Farmer Should Be His Own Builder. 



HOW TO BUILD CHEAPLY YOUR OWN HOUSES. BARNS, STABLES, 

CHICKEN HOUSES, SILOS, AND ALL OTHER SMALL 

BUILDINGS USED. 



EVEEY 
PARMER 

that can. 

Drive a Nail 

can build his 

Own Houses, 

■with ths 

help of the 

Farm Hands 

and 

•without a 

Mechanic. 




TRowt View 



If you desire plans for any kind of a building, write to the General In- 
vestment and Construction Co., of Philadelphia, Pa., for plans, first telling 
them what you want, and the sizes desired. They will send you such plans 
and descriptions, showing you the des'gn, free of cost, and if you wish it 
on a payment of one dollar they will send you working drawings, showing 
how to cut your material and put it together, without the help of a mechanic, 
using only as help those employed for farming purposes. 

This company will soon be ready to furnish you with all materials, cut 
to measurement, and nothing will be left to do on your part but to put it 
together, like so many blocks. 

Farmers can erect their Farm Buildings in this way at little more than 

half the cost they are now required to pay for the same work, 

and do it equally as well. 

Nothing improves the farm so mu h as good buildings for all purposes, 
and money thus spent is well spent, for good housing for the stock means 
good, healthy and productive stock. 

Good barns for your crops means less loss in such from waste, and dam- 
ages by the elements. 

The plans of building offered by the General Real Estate Investment and 
Construction Company are of the latest design, and contain all of the latest 
improvements in the line. 

Their plans of barns, stables, chicken house and silos are of the latest 
patterns, and even though you are not ready to build, it will pay you to have 
them. 



THE GENERAL REALTY INVESTMENT AND CONSTRUCTION CO. 

ROOM 420, 308 CHESTNUT STREET, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



LBAg'05 









MONEY 




IN 



BROILERS AND SQUABS, 



TOGETHER WITH 

SPECIAL CHAPTERS ON TURKEY AND GUINEA 

BROILERS AND GREEN DUCKLINGS 

AND GEESE FOR MARKET. 



THE EXPERIENCES OF PRACTICAL MEN, 



BY MICHAEL K. BOYER. 



Copyrighted, 1904, by the Author. 



Price 50 Cents. 



PtTBLISHJn t J^V 



MICHAEL K. BOYER, HAMMONTON, N. J. 
19 04. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 840 024 A 







V . 




1 




1 


! ^?S 






KiuS "rt. t — -v* 


' ' 










■■ 


• .'Xi~ 


\{g, f^^H 




', ^'-t" 




iSfl 




, 


H 


m 





